News4’s Shomari Stone reports two men in their 20s who were killed last weekend when a suspected drunk driver crashed into the taxi they were riding in had just moved to the U.S. from Hungary three months ago.
Friends of two men who were killed in a head-on crash told News4 the men had just moved to the U.S. in hopes of pursuing the American Dream.
Norbert Sebok, 29, and Jozsef Szathmari, 24, of Sterling, were passengers in a taxi traveling north on Fairfax County Parkway early Saturday morning when an oncoming SUV crossed into their lanes.
The cars collided head-on, killing both men and injuring the drivers. Police say neither Sebok nor Szathmari was wearing a seat belt.
'[They were] very nice guys," friend Levi Floch said. "Unbelievable hard workers. They just wanted to change their lives."
The men had moved three months ago to Virginia from Hungary. Floch said both men were in the process of getting work visas.
According to police, the accident happened at approximately 1:44 a.m. on the parkway near the intersection of Sugarland Valley Drive.
Investigators say 24-year-old Jimenez Benitez, of Herndon, was driving south and crossed into the northbound lanes while driving his Chevrolet Trailblazer "at an excessive speed."
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Benitez was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital with non life-threatening injuries following the crash. Police have charged him with two counts of aggravated involuntary manslaughter; Benitez will be taken into custody following his release from the hospital.
Detectives believe that both speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.
A court appearance scheduled for Monday was postponed until Tuesday morning.
The cab driver, a 47-year-old Herndon man, was also transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital with life-threatening injuries. There's no word on his condition at this time.
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