Hit and run driver who killed unborn baby in collision as mother walked to work jailed

Daily Record

3 days ago

Ranju Joseph was hit by reckless driver Ashir Shahid while crossing the road in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, and her unborn son Olive died just hours later following an emergency C-section
A reckless driver who caused the death of an unborn baby boy in a hit-and-run incident has been sentenced to 13 years behind bars.
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Ashir Shahid, aged 20, struck Ranju Joseph as she was crossing the road in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, on her way to work in September last year. In a shocking display of callousness, Shahid was caught singing along to Shaggy's "It Wasn't Me" as he fled the scene, attempting to conceal the damage to his windscreen.
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Footage from inside the car, both before and after the tragic incident, revealed Shahid's erratic driving behaviour. The clips, filmed by Shahid and his front seat passenger on their mobile phones, showed him reaching speeds of up to 71mph through Preston and South Ribble, reports the Mirror.
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In one clip, the passenger is seen hanging out of the front passenger door window, with most of his body outside the vehicle.
Judge Ian Unsworth KC likened Shahid's acceleration prior to the crash to that seen on a Formula 1 race track. He condemned Shahid's actions, stating: "Your driving was nothing less than appalling. You engaged in a prolonged and persistent course of dangerous driving.
"Your speed was significantly in excess of the speed limit and was highly inappropriate for the prevailing road conditions. Olive's life lasted five hours and 38 minutes. He did not live to see dawn. His mother never saw him alive. His life was snubbed out before it really began."
At Preston Crown Court, the man responsible for the death of Mrs Joseph's son Olive and causing serious injury to Mrs Joseph herself was sentenced for causing death by dangerous driving. Witnesses recounted seeing Mrs Joseph and two friends cautiously crossing the zebra crossing amidst darkness, wind, and rain.
Shahid, however, failed to slow down as he approached the crossing, catapulting Mrs Joseph into the air and into the path of an oncoming vehicle. Following the horrific incident, Shahid and his passenger fled the scene, attempting to cover their tracks. Prosecutor Emma Keogh revealed that Shahid's Toyota Prius was estimated to be travelling between 58mph and 71mph in a 30mph zone under wet conditions.
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Mrs Joseph was rushed to hospital with severe head and spinal injuries. Keogh stated: "It also became apparent that the life of her unborn child was in severe jeopardy.
"An emergency C-section had to be carried out in an attempt to save the unborn child's life. The placenta had ruptured and Mrs Joseph had bled quite heavily. Her child was born that evening but sadly he only survived for a few hours before passing away.
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"This was her very first pregnancy with her husband who she married about five years earlier. This was a planned pregnancy and very much wanted."
Healthcare assistant Mrs Joseph was strolling slightly behind two colleagues on the crossing at approximately 7.50pm as they made their way to begin a night shift. A motorist travelling in the opposite direction reported that the Prius driver appeared to accelerate around 15 metres from the crossing before veering away from the two pedestrians ahead.
The expectant mother was struck and "launched into the air for quite some distance" before tumbling and rolling into the vehicle, the witness testified.
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Ms Keogh informed the court: "It was very clear from footage in both the lead-up and the aftermath that the Toyota was driven at speed. It was clear that throughout the journey the driving by Ashir Shahid left a lot to be desired."
Just 11 minutes after the crash, searches were conducted on Shahid's mobile phone, reading 'charge for hit and run human'. In Farnworth, he and another man visited Frankie's Chicken Shop, chuckling and making light of what had occurred.
One was overheard laughing as he declared: "I'm basically with a murderer."
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After noticing the CCTV inside the establishment, he asked the person behind the camera: "If anyone asks for this video, don't give it them. This guy is a criminal."
At 9.37pm, as the men lingered in the chicken shop, an hour and a half following the collision, a Mercedes flat bed lorry retrieved the Toyota.
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The men were observed checking their mobile phones, where reports of the collision were starting to surface on social media. One of them was heard laughing: "That's the woman. She's in hospital."
Later, a Snapchat recording was found of Shahid singing along to Shaggy's 'It wasn't me' as he and another man drove away from Frankie's Chicken Shop.
Mrs Joseph shared her emotional victim impact statement with the court, stating: "Everything has changed for me now. Everything has been ruined by that one night and the callous and reckless actions of those two people in that car. My life will never be the same again.
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"I will never get to meet my baby, be a mummy to him or watch him grow up. They have taken my first child away from me and I will never get him back.
"I don't know how I will ever move on from the events of that night. I will always be reminded of what happened by the fact that my child is not here anymore and he should be. I have physical scars, but the emotional scars are the worst. There is not a day I do not think about my baby boy."
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Her husband Nigel expressed: "My whole life changed that night. My baby Olive was born and he was so tiny. We were planning a gender reveal party but I found out his sex when he was placed in my arms.
"Ranju was fighting for her life and she would never have the chance to meet her child. I can not explain the pain I feel."
He added: "Not a day goes by without me thinking of our baby boy Olive. He will be forever in our hearts."