He Couldn’t Speak English. He Allegedly Killed a Goalkeeper. The Only Charge Is for Hiding the Evidence.
Just after 1:30 a.m. on July 5, 2026, a southbound Freightliner Cascadia semi-truck allegedly rear-ended a 2025 Honda Accord on Interstate 71 in Madison County, Ohio, then crossed the median cable barrier into oncoming traffic. The Honda’s driver, 21-year-old Tobias “Toby” Forsythe, a goalkeeper on the UMass Lowell men’s soccer team, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The truck’s driver, Bekhzod Asrarov, an Uzbek national admitted to the United States in 2024 through the Diversity Visa — the congressionally authorized “Green Card” — lottery, spoke no English at the scene; troopers used Google Translate to question him. Asked about his truck’s missing dashcam, Asrarov allegedly pointed to his own pocket, where troopers recovered the camera along with three cellphones and a tablet.
Asrarov has not been charged with causing Forsythe’s death. The single criminal count filed against him is tampering with evidence — concealing the recording devices from investigators. No vehicular-homicide or manslaughter charge has been filed as of this writing.
- 21ageTobias “Toby” Forsythe, UMass Lowell goalkeeper — Source: UMass Lowell Athletics, ABC6 Columbus
- 1charge filedtampering with evidence, a third-degree felony under Ohio Rev. Code §2921.12 — Source: NBC4 Columbus, 10TV
- 2024DV lotteryyear Bekhzod Asrarov was admitted to the U.S. via the Diversity Visa (Green Card) lottery — Source: Fox News
- 5devicesa dashcam, three phones, and a tablet recovered from Asrarov's pocket — Source: Fox News, NBC4 Columbus
- 0homicide chargesvehicular-homicide or manslaughter counts filed as of this writing — Source: NBC4 Columbus, 10TV
The crash happened between roughly 1:30 and 1:37 a.m. on July 5, 2026, on southbound Interstate 71 near mile marker 82, close to West Jefferson in Madison County, Ohio, between State Route 56 and State Route 38. According to police accounts reported by local outlets, Asrarov’s southbound Freightliner Cascadia allegedly rear-ended Forsythe’s 2025 Honda Accord, then crossed the median cable barrier and entered the northbound lanes.
Forsythe was pronounced dead at the scene. Asrarov was taken to Grant Medical Center in Columbus with non-life-threatening neck and back injuries. Every detail of how the crash occurred — the impact, the crossing of the median, the sequence of events — is, at this stage, an allegation drawn from police and local-news reporting, not a fact established at trial.
“21-year-old killed in I-71 crash in West Jefferson; truck driver suffers non-life-threatening injuries.”
ABC6 Columbus (WSYX), headline summary of the Ohio State Highway Patrol investigation
At the scene, troopers found that Asrarov spoke no English. Unable to conduct a standard interview, they turned to Google Translate to ask him basic questions about the crash — including where the truck’s dashcam had gone. Fox News and NBC4 Columbus both report that, asked about the missing camera through the translation app, Asrarov pointed to his own pocket.
There, troopers recovered the dashcam along with three cellphones and a tablet — five devices in total, all allegedly concealed on his person rather than left in the cab where investigators would expect to find them. That act, not the crash itself, is what generated the criminal charge Asrarov now faces.
Bekhzod Asrarov is charged with a single count: tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony under Ohio Revised Code §2921.12, for allegedly concealing the dashcam and phones from investigators. He was booked into the Tri-County Regional Jail on that charge, according to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office inmate roster. No arraignment date has been confirmed as of this writing.
Charged: tampering with evidence (Ohio Rev. Code §2921.12), a third-degree felony, for allegedly hiding the truck’s dashcam, three phones, and a tablet.
Not charged: vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular homicide, or manslaughter. No count tied to Tobias Forsythe’s death has been filed as of this writing.
Why this page says “allegedly struck and killed”: police and local-news reporting describe the crash as the cause of Forsythe’s death, but that description is distinct from, and broader than, the single evidence-tampering count actually filed in court.
Madison County Prosecutor Nicholas A. Adkins’s office has not issued a public, on-record statement specific to this case that Civic Intelligence has identified; none is invented here. Asrarov is presumed innocent of the tampering charge, and no additional charge should be assumed simply because the underlying crash was fatal.
Tobias “Toby” Forsythe was a 2023 graduate of Gahanna Lincoln High School in Gahanna, Ohio. He played goalkeeper at Ashland University for two seasons, from 2023 to 2025, then transferred to Shawnee State for the 2025 season, where he started all 17 games. He joined UMass Lowell for the spring 2026 season as an economics major — only months into his time with the River Hawks at the time of his death.
“Our entire athletics department is heartbroken by Toby's passing... he left a meaningful impact and will always be remembered as a cherished member of our UMass Lowell family.”
Lynn Coutts, UMass Lowell Director of Athletics · official statement, goriverhawks.com
“Toby was everything you hope for in a student-athlete and an even better person. He was humble, honest, selfless and the definition of hard work.”
Kyle Zenoni, UMass Lowell Men's Soccer Head Coach
“Great character, he was always funny, always smiling, an amazing work ethic... 21 years old. He had so much to live for.”
Ceth Miller, sports performance coach · via ABC6 Columbus
The UMass Lowell men's soccer program is mourning the loss of goalkeeper Toby Forsythe, remembering him as a beloved teammate whose work ethic and character left a lasting impact on the team in just months with the River Hawks.
Bekhzod Asrarov was admitted to the United States in 2024 through the Diversity Visa lottery — commonly called the “Green Card lottery” — during the Biden administration. This is a specific, congressionally authorized immigration category, distinct from asylum, Temporary Protected Status, or humanitarian parole, and this page does not use those terms interchangeably. The program randomly selects a limited number of applicants each year from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States and, after vetting, admits them as lawful permanent residents.
Current reporting does not specify when or how Asrarov subsequently obtained his Ohio commercial driver’s license, or what class or endorsement it carries. That gap is an open question in the public record, not a fact this page will fill with speculation.
In May 2025, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy (R) signed an order directing enforcement of English Language Proficiency (ELP) out-of-service criteria for commercial drivers — rescinding a 2016 Obama-era enforcement memo that had given inspectors discretion not to place a driver out of service solely for failing an English-proficiency check. That policy shift is background regulatory context; it is not, on its own, a finding about how or when Asrarov obtained his license.
Duffy did comment directly on this crash. In a post on X, he named Asrarov specifically while arguing for the enforcement policy his department has pursued.
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.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin (R), who replaced Kristi Noem in the role in March 2026, has not issued a statement specific to this case that Civic Intelligence has identified. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D)— whose states respectively hold jurisdiction over the crash and are home to Forsythe’s university — have likewise not issued public statements on this case as of this writing. None of the four is quoted here beyond what is confirmed on the record.
Sean Duffy (R) — U.S. Transportation Secretary; signed the May 2025 order enforcing English-proficiency standards for commercial drivers, and publicly named Asrarov in arguing for that policy.
Markwayne Mullin (R) — DHS Secretary, succeeding Kristi Noem in March 2026; no statement on this case identified.
Nicholas A. Adkins — Madison County Prosecutor; no on-record quote on this case identified.
Mike DeWine (R) — Ohio Governor; no statement on this case identified. Maura Healey (D) — Massachusetts Governor; no statement on this case identified.
Bekhzod Asrarov remains booked at the Tri-County Regional Jail on the single tampering-with-evidence count, with no arraignment date confirmed as of this writing. Whether Madison County prosecutors file any additional charge tied directly to Forsythe’s death — and how Asrarov came to hold an Ohio commercial driver’s license without speaking English — are both open questions the public record has not yet answered. No civil lawsuit has been reported.
A 21-year-old goalkeeper is dead. The truck driver who allegedly struck and killed him spoke no English at the scene and, troopers say, hid his dashcam and three phones in his pocket. Yet the only criminal charge filed against Bekhzod Asrarov — a Diversity Visa lottery immigrant admitted in 2024 — is for concealing that evidence, not for the crash itself. How he obtained a commercial driver’s license without speaking the language remains unanswered.
