Driver inhaled ‘laughing gas’ before killing father-of-two
A HIT-AND-RUN driver who killed a father in front of his wife and children was caught on CCTV inhaling laughing gas at the wheel.
Gary Haffenden, 21, was driving at 67mph in a 40 mile zone moments before he struck restaurateur Syed Zaidi in Virginia Water, Surrey, in March 2019.
The crash happened nine months after Haffenden left another man, Graham Nichols, with life-changing injuries in another hit-and-run incident.
The 21-year-old was jailed for three years on Tuesday after he admitted causing death by careless driving, causing death while uninsured and failing to stop, as well as pleading guilty to the previous offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Just before the fatal collision involving Mr Zaidi, Haffenden was captured on CCTV footage inhaling from a balloon, which was thought to be filled with “laughing gas”, from behind the wheel.
The court heard the testimony of widow Afsheen Shiraz from the witness box, who said: “After this incident I have lost myself, I am totally incomplete without him. My heart weeps every night. I saw my husband upside down, blood was coming out of his mouth. The worst day of my life.”
Judge Paul Dugdale also disqualified Haffenden from driving for four-and-ahalf years.
He said: “The first collision in the Isle of Sheppey caused life-changing injuries to Graham Nichols, who has to get through the rest of his life needing a crutch to walk.
“The second collision killed Syed Zaidi. Nothing I can do will help his wife, his father in Pakistan and, worst of all, his children who will grow up without knowing their father at all.”