A Northern Virginia man is charged with intentionally driving into oncoming traffic during an argument with his girlfriend, killing her and their 5-year-old daughter.
Mustafa Nofel Aljazairi, 33, was driving north on Dumfries Road on Wednesday with Dorothy Fontain, 33, and Empress Fontain, 5, in the car, according to police.
Authorities reported that Aljazairi and Dorothy Fontain were having an argument in the car when Aljazairi intentionally crashed his Chrysler 300 into an oncoming Chevrolet Suburban.
Dorothy and Empress Fontain died in the incident.
The 46-year-old woman driving the Suburban was seriously injured, police added.
“We were at his 5 year old birthday party. [Ella estaba] full of life and the kind of happy girl and then that morning I had to say goodbye out of the blue,” lamented Dorothy Fontain’s brother, Derek Cicheskie.
Cicheskie said she went to the hospital to say goodbye to Empress.
“Frankly, it was unbelievable. I didn’t think it was real. Once everything settled down, the torrent of tears came…definitely unexpected, to say the least,” Cicheskie said.
Investigators said they found evidence suggesting the crash was not an accident.
Aljazairi was arrested on Friday and charged with two counts of manslaughter and one count of malicious injury.
His family visited the crash site on Monday. They declined an on-camera interview but said Aljazairi is innocent and lost control of the vehicle.
Police said Dorothy Fontain and Aljazairi were not wearing seat belts and that Empress was not properly restrained in the car.
Dorothy Fontain had six children, four of whom lived with her in Woodbridge. The two older children live with their parents, Cicheskie said.
Cicheskie also noted that she is working to find care for her sister’s three children.
“It’s hard. I’m just trying to find them a good location, a good home, a good future. Something that, you know, they’ve been robbed of,” he concluded.
