Driver in fatal crash had history of street racing

The driver of the car that killed a Northeast Philadelphia mother and three of her children in 2013 had been warned by police about street racing a week before the deadly crash, an officer testified Friday.

Manheim Township, Pa., Police Officer Thomas Miles said he visited Khusen Akhmedov at his home in Lancaster after a complaint about Akhmedov's driving was filed by a woman who had copied down the license plate of his silver 2012 Audi S4.

Miles was a witness at Akhmedov's nonjury trial in Common Pleas Court in the July 16, 2013 deaths of Samara Banks, 27, and three of her four sons in a Roosevelt Boulevard crash that prosecutors say happened during a late-night drag race with another driver.

Miles said that Akhmedov, 24, was outside his South Queen Street house when he and his partner arrived, and that he told him about the accusation. Miles said he told Akhmedov that his driving was "unacceptable" and warned him of possible consequences. He said Akhmedov was polite and did not challenge the woman's account.

Earlier, a Lancaster woman, Melissa Stothoff, had testified about her fears on July 8, 2013, when Akhmedov's Audi roared past her on an undivided two-lane stretch of New Danville Pike in western Lancaster County.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Lipscomb also introduced into evidence a video from Akhmedov's Facebook page showing two vehicles racing down a stretch of Sandmeyer Lane, off Red Lion Road, in an industrial park in the city's Bustleton section.

The evidence was intended to bolster Lipscomb's contention that Akhmedov had been warned of the dangers of driving fast, but continued street racing.

The trial resumes Monday before Judge Steven R. Geroff, and Lipscomb said he will complete the prosecution case. Depending on whether defense lawyer Michael Diamondstein presents evidence, Geroff could return a verdict then.

Akhmedov faces four counts of third-degree murder and related charges resulting from an alleged drag race between him and Ahmen Holloman, 32, driver of a souped-up white 1994 Honda Civic. Prosecutors say Akhmedov lost control and plowed into Banks and her family at 79 m.p.h. as they crossed the 12-lane Roosevelt Boulevard at Second Street on the border between Feltonville and Olney.

In addition to Banks, the crash killed three of her sons - Saa'mir Williams, 7 months; Saa'sean Williams, 23 months; and Saa'deem Griffin, 4. Banks' oldest son, Saa'yon Griffin, survived when he and Banks' younger sister stepped onto a grass median strip a second before the others were hit.

Holloman, whose car did not strike the victims, pleaded guilty Monday to four counts of vehicular homicide in exchange for a sentence of five to 10 years in prison.