Trucker pleads guilty to two involuntary manslaughter charges for Christmas Eve crash

A truck driver has pleaded guilty to two counts of  involuntary manslaughter after a Christmas Eve crash that killed two. 

The crash occurred on December 24th, 2019 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. 

According to WHSV News, 37-year-old Raheel Azhar was turning into a Pilot truck stop off of North Valley Pike when he struck a passenger vehicle, killing 33-year-old Dustin E. Harlow at the scene. A second passenger, 82-year-old Nancy Lambert was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital some time later. 

Azhar was indicted by a Grand Jury in 2020, and pleaded guilty to both charges of involuntary manslaughter on Tuesday morning, August 24th, 2021. Azhar was sentenced to 20 years in prison with all time suspended. Under the agreement, he will serve two years under supervised probation. 

No drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash, and Azhar no longer drives commercial trucks.