Afghan evacuee mom, volunteer killed on Charlotte sidewalk

KABUL (Agencies): Nabila Rasoul, an Afghan evacuee who resettled in Charlotte last year, was walking to pick up her 5-year-old son from school when, police said, a speeding and impaired driver killed her and her volunteer helper, 75-year-old Enedina Fernandez. Police arrested James Payne, the 21-year-old driver of a Honda Civic, on charges of felony death by vehicle, driving while impaired, reckless driving and misdemeanor child abuse, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department news release.
Police said they also charged Payne with having an open container of an alcoholic beverage in a vehicle and other traffic offenses. Payne, who had a child in his car, “failed to maintain his lane” and hit the rear of a Dodge Ram pickup, police said in the release. The pickup hit the curb, began to overturn along the sidewalk and hit Fernandez and Rasoul, according to CMPD.
Medic pronounced Fernandez dead at the scene, police said, while Rasoul died soon after at a hospital. Fernandez had just given Rasoul an English lesson at the Rasouls’ home when they went for their walk, the Catholic News Herald reported. Rasoul, 23, also had a 4-month-old and 3-year-old daughters, friend Geeta Amiri told The Charlotte Observer.
Through Catholic Charities, Rasoul arrived in Charlotte in August 2021 with her husband and children, Amiri said. Rasoul and Amiri met for the first time two weeks ago at a regular weekend gathering of Afghan families at Reedy Creek Park, off East W.T. Harris Boulevard in northeast Charlotte. Amiri gave Rasoul and her family dry foods from her car that day, she said. Amiri said she and her husband, an interpreter for US special forces in Afghanistan, left their war-torn country in 2011. They lived in India for 2 1/2 years before moving to Charlotte in 2014, and forming a trucking company.
Earning money driving trucks allows her to help fellow Afghans like Rasoul, Amiri said. Rasoul had planned to visit the family this weekend with other volunteers to give them clothes and other items. Amiri regularly called and texted Rasoul to check on the family’s needs, the last time two hours before the wreck, she said.
On Valentine’s Day, Rasoul posted photos on social media of her husband hugging her and the couple smiling, Amiri said. Women in Afghanistan are forbidden from visiting social media sites, let alone appearing in a photo, and with a man, husband or no, she said. “Now you’ve become an American,”Amiri said she texted to Rasoul. “Good job, girl.”
She described Rasoul and her husband as “very kind, very nice, very educated.” “This is very bad action for me, and I am not very good,” Rasoul’s husband, Ahmad Rasoul, told WBTV. “Afghanistan is not very good country now, and the Taliban is there. Now, my wife is not here.” “We are heartbroken over the loss of Dina Fernandez and Nabila Rasoul, who were out for a walk after working together on an English lesson,” Gerry Carter, executive director and CEO of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, said in a statement.
“Dina was a passionate volunteer who stepped up to help Catholic Charities in its efforts to resettle Afghan evacuees into our community, and Nabila and her family were recent arrivals,” Carter said. “Catholic Charities and the Diocese of Charlotte are reaching out to both families to assist in any way we can, and we hope everyone in the Charlotte community will join us in praying for the families, that they may find strength and support to sustain them in their grief over the sudden, tragic loss of their loved ones,” Carter said.
Amiri answered a call from the Observer just as she was leaving the Rasoul family’s home, where other Afghans had also gathered to bring the family food and other items. Rasoul’s husband “could not stop crying,” Amiri said.
Ahmad Rasoul has an MBA and recently landed a job with Hendrick Automotive Group, while his wife focused on raising their children, the Catholic News Herald reported. Fernandez was a retired nurse who also worked at IBM and served as an English translator for Spanish-speaking immigrants during medical appointments, according to the News Herald.
“She was a giver,” Peter Fernandez told the News Herald of his wife of 54 years. “Her work as a volunteer with the community speaks volumes. I would like people know that Dina was a great Catholic who loved her faith and always was looking to help people.” Friends established a GoFund Me site to help Ahmad Rasoul pay for long-term child care so he can keep working, along with funeral expenses and to start college funds for the children. Police urge anyone who saw or has information about the wreck to call Detective Daniel Buckley at 704-432-2169, extension 6, or, anonymously, the Crime Stoppers tip line at 704-334-1600.