Drivers jailed for 78mph death crash

TWO speeding drivers have been jailed for a total of more than 14 years after a Christmas Day crash in Birmingham which killed a passenger after racing at 78mph in a 30 zone.

Asim Shaikh was rushed to hospital but died five days after the collision, which happened in the early hours of December 25 in 2014.

He was the passenger in a stolen red Skoda driven by friend 27-yearold Kaesar Ali.

Ali and co-defendant Mohammed Kamran were racing down Stratford Road, in Hall Green, when Kamran’s silver Ford Focus clipped the Skoda. The stolen car veered off the road, crashed into traffic lights and flipped over.

Ali and Mr Shaikh were taken to hospital with serious injuries, but 29-year-old Asim failed to recover and passed away.

Ali, of Clarence Road, Sparkhill pleaded guilty to the death of his friend by dangerous driving and was sentenced to six years at Birmingham Crown Court.

He was also sentenced to 16 months for a further offence of dangerous driving, again in a stolen vehicle, that occurred several months after the collision.

He also received three years for theft and money laundering, all to run consecutively.

Kamran, of Meadway, Yardley, pleaded not guilty to death by dangerous driving, but following two trials was convicted of Mr Shaikh’s death and sentenced to four years.

Both have also been banned from driving – Ali for eight years and Kamran for five.

They will each need to sit an extended retest before being allowed behind the wheel again.

Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, from the Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This is a perfect example of how dangerous driving can change lives, not only for the victim and his family, but the drivers who risked their own lives too, and will now have to spend many years behind bars wondering if it was worth it.”