Worcester Superior Court: Second driver in 2021 drag-racing death gets probation
WORCESTER — The second of two drivers whose early-morning drag race in 2021 resulted in the death of 35-year-old Jessica Simone pleaded guilty to one count of negligent operation of motor vehicle in Worcester Superior Court on Tuesday.
Fares N. Shaikh-Omar, 23, will serve two years of probation, while three other charges — involuntary manslaughter, vehicular homicide by reckless operation and racing motor vehicle — were dropped in the plea deal.
Shaikh-Omar's guilty plea on Tuesday comes about two weeks after Mfouad Faris, 29, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide by reckless operation by a 12-member jury on March 14.
Shaikh-Omar testified in Faris’ trial, admitting to the fact that the two Worcester men had agreed to a drag race sometime around 2 a.m. on Oct. 10, 2021, after a night of partying with a group of friends to celebrate Simone’s birthday at a local club.
Leaving the Canal District in separate cars to reach a residence on Oak Avenue, the two men took off as traffic lights turned green on Summer Street near Thomas Street.
Daniel Bennett, a special prosecutor for the Worcester District Attorney's Office, said in court Tuesday that Shaikh-Omar's BMW 335 was going as fast as 60 mph on the right side of Goldsberry Street.
Bennett said that he had eventually decreased his speed as Faris, who was on the lane opposite to incoming traffic, had attempted to merge back.
Despite Faris trying to right his Mitsubishi Lancer — a sports car he had gotten four days before the crash — he lost control and crashed into an oncoming vehicle. That driver escaped unscathed.
Upon impact, an unbuckled Simone was ejected out of the rear passenger seat of Faris' car, landing in the parking lot of the Worcester Police Department.
Simone, a hairdresser who at the time of the crash was studying to become a radiology technician, was pronounced dead at UMass Memorial Medical Center the morning of Oct. 10, 2021, despite on-duty police officers rushing out of the nearby station to give first aid.
She had just turned 35 on Sept. 26, 2021, and was the daughter of Kevin Harkins, a man who disappeared from a Worcester pub in 1994. Three men were later convicted of murdering him.
After the crash, Bennett said, Shaikh-Omar got out of the car to assist at the scene but left as police waved him on.
Shaikh-Omar was charged two months later, alongside Faris, who is due to appear Thursday in court for sentencing.
When asked about his employment by Judge William J. Ritter, Shaikh-Omar said Tuesday he worked at a convenience store and “helping old people.”
He was a refugee of Syria and never charged with a serious crime before.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Second driver in Worcester drag-racing death gets probation
