ORLANDO, Fla. – Four people died in a crash on Saturday night, including two members of the Orlando Islamic community.
Tariq Rasheed, the imam of the Islamic Center of Orlando, described Windermere High School senior, Sammy Lahik, as a devout member.
“Everybody is feeling a big loss right now because this kid was special,” Rasheed said. “A brilliant kid, good at studies, good at sports, and a gentleman.”
The Florida Highway Patrol confirmed that Lahik was set to attend Duke University. He and another Islamic community member, Moad Machti, were passengers in a Toyota Camry that collided with a BMW on Central Florida Parkway on Saturday.
According to a crash report, the Camry and a BMW M2 were both speeding, and the Toyota was ahead of the BMW. Troopers say the BMW was attempting to get in front of the Toyota, colliding with the front left of the vehicle, causing the two vehicles to go off the roadway and hit several trees. The two people in the BMW also died from their injuries.
Rasheed tells News 6 that Lahik was deeply involved with the mosque and that it was the last place he visited just 15 minutes before the accident.
“He prayed here for two hours with us, and I’m told him and two of his friends were going to play soccer, so they were driving to that soccer field when they met this accident,” Rasheed recounted.
The 20-year-old driver of the Toyota is physically recovering but is struggling emotionally with the loss of his friends, Rasheed explained.
“He is in so much shock that he’s not talking to anybody, he’s not leaving his room, he’s in a state of complete shock,” Rasheed said.
The community showed immense support for Lahik’s family, with Rasheed estimating that upwards of 1,000 people visited the mosque to pray for the teenager before his burial later that day.
A woman who knew Machti described him as a caring person who will be deeply missed.
“He was just a good friend and a good family member and also a very good Muslim,” she shared.
The mosque plans to honor Machti in the same way as Lahik, recognizing their commitment to their faith.
“They had a strong attachment to the mosque, which nowadays, no matter what religion you belong to, we see that youth are drifting away from faith, but I see these two were very attached to the mosque,” Rasheed said.
