SU senior accused of killing friend in car crash
Tanbir Islam was driving 75 miles per hour while drunk
21-year-old SU senior, Tanbir Islam, is being accused of killing his friend while driving intoxicated.
On Friday night, Islam and friend Christopher Hulse, also 21, went out for a night of drinking with three others. Hulse and Islam spent the entire day together prior to the crash.
Islam has no recollection of the crash, “a head-on collision that scattered car parts all over a Bronx street,” according to the Daily News. He was not aware he had been in an accident until he got home, where his mother and sister told him Hulse was dead. The only thing he can recall is the numerous drinks he consumed at the bar.
Other friends including Eri Minaya, 21, said Islam seemed fine to drive when the five of them left the bar. In an interview at the hospital, he said “it was all our faults at the end of the day.” He claimed the crash was a result of a mechanical error with the car. Boubacar Maiga, 21, was also a passenger and claims the crash occurred because Islam was “scared.” The two suffered non-threatening injuries.
Islam hit an oncoming vehicle at three times the speed limit. In an interview from jail, Islam said through tears, “I wish someone would have stopped me, taken away my keys, but this is my fault.” According to the Daily Post, Islam has been charged with manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident, and driving while intoxicated. He suffered non-life threatening injuries. He was arraigned on Saturday. It is likely he will spend the rest of his life in jail.
The highest percentage of drunk driving incidents resulting in fatalities was between 21-24-year olds in 2014. This case is just another example of this statistic.
A Dean’s List student, Islam is a senior at Syracuse University and is four months away from graduating with a degree in information management and technology. He and Hulse became friends in high school and spent most of their time together during Islam’s breaks from university.
“I can’t think of what I’ve done to them and their families,” Islam said.
Syracuse University has been in the media for a handful of drunk driving incidents in the past year, including Phi Kappa Psi brothers Vin Maugeri and Hunter Watson.