DRIVER WHO LEFT STUDENT TO DIE JAILED
A COWARDLY driver who left a first-year university student for dead in the middle of a street in Nottingham last year has been jailed.
Manish Shah, a marketing manager from Loughborough, had been out with work colleagues in the city centre, describing it as “a last chance” to see them before lockdown hit.
He was around three times over the drink drive limit and driving at speeds of about 46mph in Derby Road, in the Lenton area of the city – a 30mph road – when he ploughed into 19-year-old Will Christmas.
Will who was crossing the road on his way to celebrate the end of term with friends, died at the scene of the collision in the early hours of Thursday, March 19.
Shah fled the scene as William’s friends and passers-by raced to his aid.
Shah, 38, of Barsby Drive, Loughborough, was jailed for more than six years last week, having previously pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, and dangerous driving.
Friends described the horrifying moment they heard a loud bang and saw their friend “thrown into the air” by a car speeding towards them, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
A police officer parked at nearby Sainsbury’s also came to Will’s aid.
The young man was unconscious and in a “grave” condition and the officer waited with him until the ambulance arrived. CPR was performed but he died at the scene.
Two police officers on patrol located Shah’s vehicle, a Ford Focus, with a shattered windscreen in Saxon Green.
Police said he was heavily intoxicated, slurring, and struggled to stand without the aid of an officer.
He refused breath and blood tests but finally agreed to provide a urine sample, the court heard.
He was around “two and a half to three times over the legal limit”, and described by police as “significantly intoxicated”.
This was more than the three pints he told police he had consumed, the prosecution stated.
He was not insured and had an expired licence and MOT.
Shah, through his solicitor, said the event had left him remorseful.
The court was told he feels like “he is not worth anything”, with the events of that night transforming him from “happy and confident” to “quiet and lost”.
Shah was jailed for six years and nine months, of which half will be spent in custody and the other half on licence. He was also banned from driving for eight years and four months.
Passing sentence, Judge Coupland said: “The fault of this collision is yours and yours alone.
“You did not cooperate with the police and you seemed more concerned about your car than the person you hit.”