A Massachusetts man is mourning the loss of his only child and grandchild after they were killed by a suspected drunk driver while running an errand to get milk.
Samir Naili, 35, and his eight-year-old daughter Kashmera died late last Saturday night in after a vehicle crashed into them at 100mph, police said.
Naili's Honda CRV was stopped at a red light in North Reading when a white Acura MDX rear-ended them, causing their vehicle to erupt into flames, investigators said.
First responders and a Good Samaritan tried to pull the pair out of the burning car, but police say Naili and Kashmera were both pronounced dead at the scene.
Matthew Sweeney, the 21-year-old driver, was arrested on site on five charges, including two counts of motor vehicle homicide while drunk and speeding, court records show. He has not yet entered a plea.
Now, nearly a week after the crash, Naili's heartbroken father, Said Naili, has spoken out, sharing how he has leaned on his faith as he faces mixed emotions of anger and sadness.
'Why was this person driven to do these things, and why did it happened to them?' he said in an interview with The Boston Globe. 'I wake up at night and during the day, and I just cry, cry, cry, and I say this is God's will.'
Naili and Kashmera had a close bound, Said shared, claiming that 'God didn't want to separate them' because 'neither one would have been able to live without the other.'
Samir Naili, 35, and his eight-year-old daughter Kashmera were killed in North Reading, Massachusetts last Saturday after a suspected drunk driver crashed into their car at 100mph
Naili as a 'ray of sun' who was devoted to his daughter, pictured together. Kashmera was kind, generous and 'touched by an angel,' her grandfather claimed
The father and daughter were buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in their hometown of Andover, Massachusetts, on Wednesday.
Said, 72, described Naili as a 'ray of sun' who was devoted to his daughter.
Kashmera 'changed his life,' he said of Naili, noting how becoming a father motivated him to complete two computer science degrees at the local community college.
Parenting also reportedly gave him the courage and strength to always do the right thing, Said added.
Kashmera was kind, generous and 'touched by an angel,' he said, sharing how the little girl would go out of her way to help others.
She once ran across a Walmart parking lot to help a woman who dropped her groceries, Said recalled.
Her dream was to work with sick children at St Jude Children's Hospital.
Naili and Kashmera moved into Said's home a few years back after the 35-year-old split from his daughter's mother, Jamie Carr.
Matthew Sweeney, 21, was arrested on site on five charges, including two counts of motor vehicle homicide while drunk and speeding. He appeared in court Monday, but did not enter a plea. His bail was set to $250,000
Said Naili, 72, has faced mixed emotions of anger and sadness in the wake of their deaths
Carr has said she will never find 'closure' in her daughter's death.
'There's no such thing as closure,' she told WCVB. 'There's just learning to live and remembering her. And that's what I want is for people to never forget this awesome little girl.'
Naili and Carr, 38, co-parented Kashmera after their separation, according to Said.
The grieving grandfather added that Kashmera regularly told him how much she loved her family.
'I have never seen a daughter that loved her father and a father who loved his daughter as much as they did,' he told the newspaper. 'Never even in the movies.'
Sweeney appeared in Woburn District Court on Monday and his bail was set at $250,000.
His attorney told the judge that Sweeney had no recollection of the crash, citing how he has an ongoing mental illness that contributes to a 'history of lost time and blackouts.'
The suspect was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in September 2024 and involuntarily committed to a hospital at his mother's request, the court heard.
Said, Samir and Kashmera Naili have lived in this gorgeous four-bedroom home together for several years, the grieving grandfather revealed
He was involuntarily hospitalized for a second time in December.
The defense claims that Sweeney was prescribed antipsychotic medications but stopped taking them after they allegedly caused chest pains. It is unclear when exactly he ceased taking his prescription.
The judge has ordered Sweeney to undergo a 15-day mental health evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.
He is due back in court on September 11 for a hearing to review status, court records showed.
