Latest news with #ChinenyeOkonkwo
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Daily Record
Brother of nursing student killed by speeding driver opens up on family's heartbreak
Chinenye Okonkwo died in Glasgow after she was hit by an Audi A4 that mounted the pavement as she headed to her part-time job. The heartbroken brother of a nursing student who was killed by a speeding driver has spoken of his family's heartbreak. Chinenye Okonkwo, 33, died after she was hit by an Audi A4 that mounted the pavement in Glasgow city centre in February 2023. She had been waiting to cross the road on her way to a nursing home shift when she was struck and crushed between railings and the front of the car, reports STV. The driver, Akbar Razaq, had been driving double the 30mph speed limit. He was jailed last week for three years and four months at the High Court in Glasgow after admitting causing death by dangerous driving. He was also banned from driving for more than eight years. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Speaking to STV News, Chinenye's brother, Henry, revealed how the incident impacted their family. He said: "Her dreams being cut short by this unfortunate incident will always remain in our hearts and minds because she truly had a very big dream. Being a nurse, getting a house, and getting that degree was something that she wanted at all costs. "When you see a young girl with such dreams, you need to support her and help her achieve them, but unfortunately, this happened." Chinenye, originally from Nigeria, had moved to the UK in 2022 to study Public Health at Glasgow Caledonian University. She recently landed a part-time job in a nursing home in the city's east end. She was walking on her way to start a shift when she was hit in the fatal crash. Henry continued: 'We were so happy with her achievements in such a short time, then not even two months later, we lost her. 'It broke my parents, my mum fell ill, my dad, who is in his 70s, also fell ill, and he was so weak. When this news broke to them, they just broke down; everyone was devastated. 'All we could do was try to keep ourselves strong.' Henry believes his sister got the justice she deserved as the family now begins a healing process. He said: 'After the hearing, I spoke with my parents and told them the outcome, and I explained it to them, which was really emotional. 'I believe that we have given Chinenye the justice that she deserved. ' Families don't want to remember certain things for a long time, they just want to move away from it and get better, so there is a long way to go but I do believe we can get better.'
BBC News
29-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Speeding driver who admitted killing Glasgow Caledonian student jailed
A speeding driver who mounted a pavement and crushed a student to death has been Razaq was doing 60mph in a 30mph zone when his Audi hit another car and came off the road near Charing Cross in Glasgow city centre on 2 February Okonkwo, 33, from Nigeria, was waiting to cross the road and was crushed between railings and the front of Razaq's car. She was pronounced dead at the the High Court in Glasgow, Razaq, 30, was jailed for three years and four months having earlier admitted a charge of causing death by dangerous driving. He was also banned from the road for a total of eight years and two of Ms Okonkwo's family watched the sentencing hearing from their home country. Ms Okonkwo had moved to the UK in 2022 and was studying Public Health at the city's Caledonian also had a part-time job at a nursing home in the city's Okonkwo had been walking to work when she was hit by the court heard Razaq's Audi A4 was hit by a Ford Fiesta seconds before it mounted the pavement and struck a traffic light post. Ms Okonkwo, who was standing at the junction of Newton Street and St Vincent Street, was then struck by both the car and the got out to "remonstrate" with the other was only then that a passenger in his Audi spotted Ms Okonkwo under the court heard Ms Okonkwo received "extensive advanced life support" at the scene, but did not investigators concluded that the collision was caused by "negligence on the part of both drivers". 'Excessive speed' But prosecutor Alex Prentice KC added: "Despite different degrees of responsibility, it is also their opinion that the blame for the death is attributed to the driver of the Audi due to his dangerous manner of driving at excessive speed."Had he driven within permitted speed limits, it is unlikely the collision would have occurred."The investigators added that the Ford Fiesta driver had not performed "final safety checks" before carrying out the it was said she "could not reasonably expect" the Audi to have been approaching her "at such excessive speed". The Ford Fiesta driver had also initially been charged, but she no longer faces Scullion KC, defending, said Razaq "bitterly regrets his involvement in the death".Lord Mulholland said Ms Okonkwo was a woman with a "great future" and that no sentence would compensate for the loss her family had judge told Razaq: "It is a tragedy this happened and it did not need to happen."If you have been driving at a safe speed, it would not have happened."He cut the jail-term from four and a half years due to the guilty plea.
