Silvio Sobrinho, a 58-year-old Hispanic/Latino truck driver from Revere, Massachusetts, was a hardworking family man and the sole provider for his wife, two daughters, and two grandchildren. A Brazilian native with an enormous heart, he was hauling a load of cars south to Florida when his life was violently cut short in what police believe was a road rage incident.
On the night of January 31, 2025, at around 11:30 p.m., Sobrinho was driving his tractor-trailer in the left southbound lane of Interstate 295 in Henrico County, Virginia. Near mile marker 25, another semi-truck traveling in the center lane struck his vehicle. The impact forced Sobrinho’s truck off the highway and into a metal guardrail, where it came to a crashing stop.
The other driver then pulled alongside Sobrinho’s disabled rig and fired multiple shots into the cab.
A witness who was traveling in the northbound lanes saw the crash, pulled over to help, and discovered Sobrinho slumped over the steering wheel. The witness called the police, and a Virginia State Police trooper who arrived on the scene attempted CPR. Tragically, Sobrinho was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound. Investigators later found several bullet holes on the passenger side of his truck.
The Virginia State Police launched an investigation to find the driver of the other truck, which was described as a white tractor-trailer with green lettering. The search led them to Florida, where Tony Ray Williams, a 55-year-old truck driver from Fort Pierce, was arrested on February 13, 2025.
Williams was extradited to Virginia to face charges for the killing. In January 2026, he pleaded guilty to murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a violent felon. For these crimes, Tony Ray Williams was sentenced to a total of 48 years in prison.
