NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Nashville community is grieving after four teenagers died following a devastating crash early Sunday morning.
At around 12:45 a.m. Sunday, 17-year-old Kerlos Toma was driving an Infiniti sedan when it collided head-on with a Jeep Renegade on Mt. View Road near Asheford Trace in Antioch. Toma, along with 19-year-olds Maximos Ibrahim and David Fakhory, and 17-year-old Raafat Nassif, were all killed. The driver of the Jeep survived with non-life-threatening injuries.
Investigators believe speed was a factor and say no one in either car was wearing a seatbelt. Initial evidence indicates that the Infiniti was partially in the oncoming Jeep’s lane at impact, but investigators are still working to determine exactly what happened.
For friends Helena and Ebram Ragab, the loss is deeply personal. They knew Raafat Nassif very well.
“I’m feeling devastated. Of course. Raafat, lifelong friend, I call him my brother, my cousin. It’s very sad seeing all these people die at a young age,” Ebram said.
“I feel for their family, too, like nobody should have to go through that pain.”
The friends remember the joy and laughter the four young men brought to their lives.
“It doesn’t feel real. Like they were always people that you would just go to church and just see them. They were like a joy. Just always joy and always making other people laugh,” Helena said.
“We also grew up with and he was just always, like, there with a joke, you know?”
Ebram recalled their friendship fondly.
“Definitely when we used to go out after church, hangout. Definitely like random calls, text hey what’s up, how’s it going, how’s your day?” Ebram said.
A memorial now stands at the crash site, filled with flowers, balloons, candles, and handwritten messages of love. Throughout the day, dozens stopped by to pay their respects, share memories, and say prayers for the four young lives lost too soon.
“May God like protect them and protect their families and look over them,” Helena said.
This story was reported on-air and written by Kelsey Gibbs and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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