Driver racing over 80mph jailed for 13 years for killing mother and daughter in Boxing Day crash

ITV News

3 days ago

A driver who killed a mother and her daughter in a Boxing Day crash in Birmingham has been jailed for 13 years and three months.
Birmingham Crown Court was told the 25-year-old was racing another car and overtaking at up to 84mph through a traffic-light controlled junction in a 30mph zone, when he lost control of his BMW and crashed into a car carrying four generations of the same family.
Amanda Riley, 49, and her mother Linda Philips, 72, both died at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics to save them at the roadside in Shard End.
Other family members travelling in the MG suffered injuries, including a broken leg, fractured sternum and bruising to the lungs.
The court were told that both cars caught fire in the aftermath of the crash and that a passerby courageously helped three people in the MG escape.
Describing the circumstances of the crash at Ibrahim's sentencing hearing, prosecutor Philip Vollans said the victims were travelling home from family celebrations on the evening of Tuesday, December 26, 2023.
He said that Ibrahim was racing another BMW before he crashed into a quad bike and then hit an MG car, carrying the victims.
"Both (BMW) cars were speeding, both cars racing each other.
"The defendant was the faster driver of the two".
Mr Vollans estimated that Ibrahim was speeding for at least half a mile before the crash, reaching speeds of more than 80mph.
Mr Vollans added that the defendant had initially hit a quad bike, which had run a red light and lost control while in the wrong lane.
Ibrahim, of Old College Road in Sheldon, hit the kerb of the central reservation and crashed into the family's car which was on the opposite carriageway.
The driver's seat of the MG was knocked out of its fixings and caught fire, leaving its occupants trapped as a member of the public attempted to free them.
A witness saw Ibrahim saying "I need to go", whilst lying on the ground near the driver's side of the BMW before he left the scene. It's thought Ibrahim's car was also on fire following the crash.
The court heard that Ibrahim was caught on camera at Heartlands Hospital where he was treated for a leg injury.
He later returned to the scene where he was arrested, but refused a breath test.
Mr Vollans said: "Both cars were completely destroyed as a result of this collision".
Three relatives of the victims, including the driver of the car, read victim impact statements.
One described those killed as having "died fighting for their lives, lying on a cold roadside, scared and in tremendous pain".
In a statement read to the court by Mr Vollans, George Philips, husband of Linda who died in the collision, said: "Our family are the centre of our world. The aftermath was the complete devastation of my family.
"My wife and daughter both died. My world fell apart. I felt an immense emptiness."
Amanda and Linda were described to the court as being hard-working, family motivated and would help anyone.
Defence barrister Jasvir Mann, mitigating, told the court that Ibrahim has no previous convictions and there was strong evidence that he "led a thoroughly-positive life".
Mr Mann said "My instructions are that he has no meaningful memory of that day".
The actions of the quad bike rider, who also left the scene and has never been identified, had contributed to what happened he added.
Ibrahim had pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Passing sentence, Judge Paul Farrer KC said passer-by Stuart Bates had courageously helped passengers escape from the burning MG and 'may well have saved three lives'.
The judge said of the defendant's claim to have no meaningful memory of the crash: "Despite your claim to the contrary, you obviously knew what you had done."