Drug plot car chase crooks jailed for 33 years after young woman killed in crash
A drug dealer and two accomplices who killed a woman in a deadly car chase have been jailed for a total of 33 years.
Arslan Sajid, 24, was behind the wheel of a Mercedes which hit the back of a Vauxhall Vectra driven by Amy Rose Wilson in New Carron Road, Falkirk in Stirlingshire on July 29, 2023.
The crime occurred after Sajid together with associates Andrew Gregoire, 29, and Anthony Davidson, 32, had earlier confronted the 27 year-old and her boyfriend Ryan Paterson, 23, in the town.
Sajid believed the couple had stolen a five kilogramme haul of cannabis which belonged to him.
Amy Rose had desperately tried to get away from the trio, who were all from London.
But, Sajid smacked into her car causing it spin onto the other side of the road and plough into oncoming traffic.
Amy Rose died from her injuries and her partner Mr Paterson was also left badly hurt.
Sajid fled to Pakistan to avoid being arrested following the attack before returning to face justice.
Sajid, Gregoire and Davidson were today sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.
They had earlier been convicted of the culpable homicide of Amy Rose as well as the aggravated assault of Mr Paterson following a trial in Edinburgh.
Lady Drummond today handed each of the trio - who had initially faced a murder accusation - the same 11-year term.
They will also be monitored for a further three years on their release.
The judge: "Amy Rose Wilson's father has said he has supreme difficulty putting into words the immense and devastating loss of his only child has had on his life.
"Amy Rose's mother and step-dad described her as much loved...they say her loss is overwhelming.
"It is said not having here any longer has left a vast and hollow emptiness."
Describing the killing, Lady Drummond added: "This must have been an utterly terrifying experience for Amy Rose and her passenger."
Co-accused Steven Hornsby was also sentenced today.
He was not part of the killing, but he was convicted along with the other three of conspiring to rob others of drugs and cash at different locations in the UK.
The 55 year-old was further guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice which included driving the trio back to England.
He was jailed for four years and also ordered to be supervised for three years when he is freed.
Jurors heard evidence how Sajid and his accomplices had travelled from Dagenham in Essex with 10 kilogrammes of cannabis to sell to a Glasgow based dealer.
Sajid told prosecutor Alan Cameron KC that the buyer - who he did not name - insisted he was only going to take half of the consignment stating the remainder was not good quality.
Sajid added: 'He said he would sell the other five kilos for us.'
He then said that a buyer for the sub-standard amount was found and the hand over was going to take place in the car park of a branch of B&Q in Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire.
Sajid expected that he would receive £17,000 for the haul once the buyers had taken possession of the cannabis. However, he said the expected pay out did not occur.
The court heard evidence that the car containing the drugs was being driven by Amy Rose.
He said he then followed the car to Falkirk and it stopped in the town's Foundry Street.
The now masked men leapt out the Mercedes and smashed the windows of Amy Rose's Vauxhall yelling threats.
Sajid said that he just wanted the Vectra to stop so he could 'get my stuff back'.
He told Mr Cameron: 'Anthony and Andrew got out of the car as well. They held me back and said 'what are you doing'.
Sajid then said he got back into the car and followed it. He admitted to hitting it a short time afterwards.
He said: 'I clipped the Vectra. It spun out into the other lane.'
Mr Cameron asked: 'What did you do?'
Sajid replied: 'I just continued driving. I heard a loud bang. I did not appreciate how serious the incident was.'
Sajid and his accomplices then parked their car in nearby Larbert. They called a man who was based in London to come north to pick it up.
Hornsby then drove his co-accused back to England. Sajid caught a flight to Pakistan. He said he decided to visit there as his grandfather was dying and he wanted to see him.
However, he admitted to later learning that Amy Rose had died after browsing the Internet.
He added: 'I felt sick. I wanted to throw up. It was an accident. It was not my intention for her to die. It was not meant to be like that.'
During his evidence, Amy Rose's partner Mr Paterson told jurors of how he went into 'fight or flight' mode during the attack.
He told Mr Cameron that the three people had 'mad accents' and were wearing balaclavas.
They had screamed: "You are f*****g dead."
He added: 'They smashed the front windows of Amy's car. i jumped back into the car.
"There were three people standing in front of me with machetes or hammers.
'We looked at each other and said 'we need to get out of here.'
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He said that the Mercedes car started following her and came into contact with the back of the vehicle a short distance afterwards.
Speaking about the Mercedes, Mr Paterson said: 'It was actually ramming into her car. I was scared to be honest.
'Once they crashed into us, I blacked out and woke up in hospital. I can't remember anything else.'
The man's injuries included a bleed on the brain and a punctured lung.
The court heard after the verdicts that Sajid, Gregoire, Davidson and Hornsby all had criminal records before this incident.
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