COLUMBUS, Ohio — A tragic highway accident that claimed the life of a 21-year-old college soccer player has sparked a push for state legislative reform, after court records revealed the commercial truck driver involved could not speak English and allegedly tried to hide evidence at the scene.
Following the fatal July 5th crash on Interstate 71 in Madison County, State Senator Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) announced he is calling for a thorough review of Ohio’s Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) requirements.
The Fatal Collision
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the crash occurred around 1:37 a.m. in the southbound lanes of I-71. Investigators state that a semi-truck driven by 42-year-old Bekhzod Asrarov rear-ended a car driven by Tobias “Toby” Forsythe.
The impact forced the semi-truck through a cable barrier, across the median, and into the opposite lanes of the highway. Forsythe, a Gahanna native and collegiate soccer player, was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.
Forsythe had played soccer at Ashland University and Shawnee State before transferring to UMass Lowell. Those who knew him remembered him as an exceptional young man. “He was an amazing kid. He was someone of great character,” said his trainer, Ceth Miller. “Very humorous, he was always smiling, but had an amazing work ethic.”
Language Barrier and Tampering Charges
As the investigation unfolded, highly unusual details emerged from Madison County Municipal Court records:
- Google Translate Used: While Asrarov provided a valid Ohio CDL to responding state troopers, he reportedly spoke Uzbek and could not speak or understand English. Medics and law enforcement were forced to communicate with him using Google Translate.
- Hidden Evidence: A state trooper noticed that the semi-truck’s dash camera was missing. Upon further investigation, the trooper discovered that Asrarov had removed the camera and hidden it in his pocket.
Asrarov has since been arrested and charged with Tampering with Evidence.
“If you were to have a camera in your vehicle… and particularly in a case where somebody was injured, that dash camera can become evidence,” legal analyst Michael Maillis noted, explaining why removing the device carries severe criminal implications.
Lawmakers and Federal Officials Respond
The incident has drawn national attention, prompting U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to post about the tragedy on X (formerly Twitter).
Closer to home, Senator Schaffer, who serves as the Vice Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, expressed deep alarm over how a non-English speaking driver was permitted to operate a commercial vehicle on Ohio roadways. Federal regulations generally require CDL holders to speak and read English well enough to converse with the public and understand traffic signs.
“This news of a non-English speaking CDL driver hitting and killing an Ohio citizen is alarming to hear, that someone driving a semi-truck cannot understand or effectively communicate in English,” Schaffer said in an official statement.
Schaffer stated that he is calling on the state to examine the Ohio Revised Code to find ways to tighten and reinforce licensing laws.
“People who are behind the wheel of a big rig need to be held to a higher standard and comply with the laws that are in place,” Schaffer said. “We await results of the law enforcement investigation of this accident to determine next steps of what the State of Ohio can do to locate and revoke CDLs of dangerous drivers… Justice needs to be delivered for the family of Tobias Forsythe, whose life was tragically cut short.”
