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A police affidavit noted that a man charged with second-degree murder in connection with a fatal motorcycle accident in Garden City on Oct. 7 said during a police interview that it was “the will of God” that a Garden City man was killed.
Bashir Omar, 31, 312 W. Mary St., has also been charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving as a result of the accident.
At about 7 p.m. Oct. 7, Omar was southbound in the 2400 block of Fleming Street in a 2002 Jeep Liberty, and Robert Becker, 67, of Garden City, was also southbound on Fleming riding a 2009 Kawasaki motorcycle. Witnesses told Garden City police that Omar’s vehicle rear-ended Becker’s motorcycle and caused it to crash. Becker was pronounced dead at the scene, and it has since been revealed in court that Omar was allegedly intoxicated by a combination of drugs and alcohol at the time of the accident.
According to a law enforcement affidavit, Omar struck Becker from behind at an estimated speed of about 45 mph in a residential area with a speed limit of 30 mph. After making impact with Becker, Omar allegedly pushed him on his motorcycle for approximately 326 feet until he struck a curb in the 1500 block of Kingsbury Street. Becker’s body was found 126 feet to the east, across Fleming Street.
Further police investigation indicated that markings on the road suggest Omar did not apply his brakes “during the entirety of the crash” and was “accelerating throughout the crash,” according to the affidavit. Evidence from the scene of the accident also indicated that Becker’s body was dragged across Fleming Street after the motorcycle was freed from the Jeep.
The affidavit noted that the Jeep then circled back around, “ran over the body while continuing to accelerate,” and crossed Fleming Street and headed south to the intersection of Fleming and Mel’s Drive, where the vehicle stopped.
Becker’s autopsy, as reported in the affidavit, indicated that Becker’s death was caused by multiple skull fractures, a spinal fracture, a fracture of the left leg, crushed ribs, multiple lung punctures and a laceration of the liver.
A video was also recovered during the investigation from a nearby home surveillance system that captures moments just prior to the crash, according to the affidavit. The video shows the Jeep “overtaking” the motorcycle at a higher rate of speed than the motorcycle was traveling.
A detective determined that the motorcycle was traveling at approximately 21.1 mph and the Jeep was traveling at 35.4 mph just prior to the initial point of impact. The investigation showed no indication that Omar slowed down after the initial point of impact, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also notes that a video captured by a witness’s cellphone shows Omar’s Jeep running over Becker’s body after it had already been dislodged from the Jeep’s undercarriage. The video depicted the Jeep stopped on the east side of Fleming Street in the grass with Becker’s body lying in front of the left front tire on the ground. The Jeep then reverses, stops again and pulls forward, running over Becker’s body with the right front tire as it progressed forward on Fleming Street. The vehicle then pulled into the southbound lane of Fleming Street and reversed approximately half a block, almost striking another vehicle.
The affidavit states that during an interview conducted by a detective with the assistance of a Somali translator on Oct. 8, Omar was read his Miranda rights and consented to speak without an attorney present. Omar said he saw the motorcycle prior to impact, but added that the motorcycle “stopped suddenly” without any indication of a brake light or turn signal.
Omar said that at no time during the accident did he take his foot off of his accelerator, according to the affidavit. He added that it was “the will of God” that the accident happened. Omar also said he had consumed nuts similar to Betel nuts — a stimulant native to parts of east Africa and Asia that is used by almost a tenth of the world’s population and gives the user a buzz equivalent to roughly six cups of coffee, according to the BBC.
Omar appeared before District Judge Robert Frederick for the first time on Monday. He has retained Lucille Douglass of Garden City as his attorney, and his second appearance before Frederick has been scheduled for Dec. 4 at 4:30 p.m. in Courtroom 202.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly reported the scheduled date of Omar’s next appearance in court. His next appearance in court is scheduled for Dec. 4 at 4:30 p.m.
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