An Uzbek commercial truck driver accused of causing an Ohio highway crash that killed a UMass Lowell men’s soccer goalkeeper allegedly failed basic English requirements and tried to hide critical evidence at the deadly scene.
As the UMass Lowell community mourns 21-year-old Tobias “Toby” Forsythe, outrage is mounting over the early morning collision this past Sunday in his home state.
“Our entire athletics department is heartbroken by Toby’s passing,” Director of Athletics Lynn Coutts said. “Although Toby’s time as a River Hawk was cut far too short, he left a meaningful impact.”
The suspect, Bekhzod Asrarov, 42 — an Uzbek national who entered the U.S. in 2024 via the federal diversity visa lottery program — is accused of ramming a silver 2020 Freightliner Cascadia into the rear of a gray 2025 Honda Accord that Forsythe was driving just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday on Interstate 71 south.
Emergency responders pronounced Forsythe dead at the scene.
As investigators processed the crash, a Madison County sheriff’s deputy noticed a dashboard camera missing from its windshield mount inside Asrarov’s semi. While speaking with Asrarov via Google Translate in an ambulance, the deputy discovered the missing camera hidden inside the driver’s right pocket.
“This truck driver failed his English language proficiency test and needed Google Translate to speak with state troopers,” U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, said in a statement. “He should have never been operating a semi on Ohio roads.”
Asrarov, who presented his CDL at the scene, has been charged with felony tampering with evidence. The revelation of his language barrier has triggered fierce criticism from federal transportation officials over commercial trucking oversight.
“We cannot let truckers like Asrarov, who can’t read our road signs or speak to law enforcement, drive 80,000-pound rigs on America’s highways,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, vowing to keep “dangerous truck drivers off the road.”
The tragedy comes days after an illegal immigrant living in Brockton, Michael Bon, 33, was accused of killing a Pennsylvania state trooper in a fiery tractor-trailer crash. ICE has lodged a detainer against Bon, and the Department of Homeland Security has slammed Massachusetts officials for issuing him a CDL.
“Illegal aliens should not be driving trucks on America’s highways,” Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis said.
Amid the national political fallout, those who knew Forsythe remember a young man defined by a relentless work ethic. The economics major transferred to UMass Lowell ahead of the 2026 spring season after previous soccer stints at Ashland University and Shawnee State.
“Toby was everything you hope for in a student-athlete and an even better person,” UML head coach Kyle Zenoni said. “He was humble, honest, selfless and the definition of hard work.”
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