Police investigate the scene of a collision between a car and a police cruiser in Upper Arlington, Ohio early Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. An officer from the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington was responding to a robbery report when the overnight crash occurred at an intersection, said Jason Pappas, head of the local police union. According to Pappas, six people in the other vehicle died, including a small child. The officer was being treated for a serious head injury at a hospital but was in stable condition. AP/Columbus Dispatch,Tom Dodge
UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio — A social worker says six members of a family killed in a crash with an Ohio police officer were Iraqi refugees who were driving home from holiday visits with family and friends at the time of the accident.
Majeda Mohammad works for Community Refugee and Immigration Services in Columbus. She says Eid Badi Shahad and his family had come from Basra, Iraq, to Ohio about three years ago.
Shahad, his wife and their four daughters were killed in the wreck. Mohammad said Friday that Shahad’s mother and his four sons were home at the time of the accident.
Mohammad says the family had been out making visits as part of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.