Dad's 'world fell apart' as wife and daughter killed by callous BMW driver who fled crash
George Philips said he felt "empty" after reckless after the Boxing Day tragedy, which was caused by a driver who lost control and fled after doing up to 84mph - almost three times the speed limit - as he raced another car.
Four generations of the same family were in an MG hit by Mohammed Ibrahim's BMW 420 in Shard End on December 26, 2023.
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Both cars were destroyed and Birmingham Crown Court heard Amanda Riley, 49, and Linda Philips, 72, were left to die "on a cold roadside, scared and in tremendous pain".
But instead of trying to help, callous Ibrahim, 25, was heard saying: "I need to go" before he turned up at Heartlands Hospital for treatment.
In a statement read to the court as the motorist was sentenced today, Wednesday, July 16, Mr Philips said: "Our family are the centre of our world. The aftermath (of the crash) was the complete devastation of my family.
'My wife and daughter had both died. My world fell apart. I felt an immense emptiness.'
His wife and daughter were both hard-working, doted on their families and would help anyone, Mr Philips added.
The court heard Ibrahim had been travelling 'in convoy' with a BMW X3 at up to 84mph in a 30mph zone. His car crashed into a quad bike and then hit the MG.
The women both died at the scene. Four other family members in the MG suffered injuries, including a fractured sternum, a broken leg requiring surgery and bruising to the lungs.
Philip Vollans, prosecuting, said the victims were travelling home from family celebrations on the evening of Boxing Day 2023.
Before showing video footage to the sentencing judge of Ibrahim's car speeding past a bus towards the crash site on Meadway, at its junction with Kitts Green Road, Mr Vollans said the driver of the BMW X3 had never been traced.
Mr Vollans said of the two BMWs: 'Both cars were speeding, both cars racing each other.
'The defendant was the faster driver of the two.'
Estimating that Ibrahim was speeding for at least half a mile before the 'tremendous' impact, reaching 80-84mph, Mr Vollans added that the defendant initially hit a quad bike, which had run a red light, and lost control while in the wrong lane.
Ibrahim, of Old College Road, Sheldon, then hit the kerb of the central reservation and crashed into the family's car as it slowed down on the opposite carriageway. The driver's seat of the MG was knocked out of its fixings and it caught fire, leaving its occupants trapped as a member of the public attempted to free them.
A witness saw Ibrahim, who was saying 'I need to go', lying on the ground near the driver's side of the BMW before he left the scene.
His car was also on fire following the crash, the court heard.
The court heard Ibrahim was caught on CCTV at Heartlands, where he was treated for a leg injury, and he later returned to the scene, where he was arrested but refused a breath test.
Mr Vollans added: 'Both cars were completely destroyed as a consequence of this collision.'
Three relatives of the victims, including the driver of the car, read victim impact statements to the court, with one describing those killed as having 'died fighting for their lives, lying on a cold roadside, scared and in tremendous pain'.
Defence barrister Jasvir Mann, offering mitigation, told the court that Ibrahim had no previous convictions and there was ample evidence, including references, that he had '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, Mr Mann added.
Ibrahim pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
The defendant was due to be sentenced by Judge Paul Farrer KC later on Wednesday.
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