BMW driver jailed for killing brother while racing friend in Audi
Zekeriye Mohammed was driving his BMW 1 Series with brother Idiris as a passenger when the Audi being driven by close pal Ahmed Haider smashed into them.
A driver who caused the death of his brother after he and a friend raced in their ‘high performance’ cars at more than double the speed limit has been jailed.
Zekeriye Mohammed, 24, was driving his BMW 1 Series with brother Idiris as a passenger when the Audi being driven by close pal Ahmed Haider, 23, smashed into them.
After the collision in Bolton, Greater Manchester, late on September 9 last year Mohammed told police: ‘I f***ed up bad.’
The city’s crown court was told the two drivers had ‘engaged in grotesquely irresponsible competitive driving’, weaving in and out of dense traffic at speeds of up to 83mph in a 30mph zone.
Prosecutor David Temkin said: ‘Both defendants had no regard for other road users, and they simply overtook at speed any cars that were in their way.’
Idiris Mohammed was a passenger in the BMW, and there was also another in Haider’s car.
Prior to the crash Zekeriye Mohammed slowed down to about 50mph and later said he planned to return home.
Shortly after Haider pulled a U-turn on a side street, Mohammed began performing the same manoeuvre on St Helens Road.
He was completing the U-turn as Haider’s Audi approached, flashing his headlights ‘repeatedly’.
Moments later Haider’s Audi, which was travelling on the wrong side of the road, crashed into Mohammed’s BMW at a speed of between 52mph and 57mph.
After the horror crash Haider got out of his car and ran away, leaving behind his passenger who suffered a ‘serious back injury’.
Idiris Mohammed was rushed to hospital, but was pronounced dead at 1.15am on September 10.
A statement on behalf of the Mohammed family from Idiris’s younger brother, Yoonis, was read to the court.
It said: ‘Words cannot describe the painful experience I am enduring. It is pain I will be feeling for the rest of my life.
‘Our family unit has become even stronger than before. I find that being around my family is the only thing that helps me now.
‘A part of me also died in that car accident.’
The family also said they had ‘forgiven’ Haider.
The statement continued: ‘We wish Ahmed Haider the easiest of trials, both now and in the afterlife. We don’t hold any grudges.’
Haider, from Birmingham, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop after a crash, failing to report a crash, and breaching a deportation order.
Mohammed, from Bolton, admitted causing death by careless driving and dangerous driving.
Haider was jailed for five years and three months, while Mohammed was sentenced to two years and three months in jail on Thursday.
Mohammed’s lawyer had appealed for him to be spared jail, saying he had already been punished by the loss of his brother.
But Judge Martin Walsh said a prison sentence was ‘inevitable’.
He told Mohammed: ‘Your brother lost his life in part because of your desire to engage in grotesquely irresponsible competitive driving with your co-defendant.
‘You are fortunate indeed to retain the continuing support from your family. Their attitude towards acceptance and forgiveness is remarkable.
‘I recognise the impact which the loss of your brother has had both upon you and your family, but your conduct contributed significantly to your brother’s untimely death.’
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