Pair jailed over death of student in high-speed bus stop crash

A speeding driver who smashed into a bus stop, killing a university student and seriously injuring her friend, has been jailed for eight years.

West Midlands Police said sales rep Sukvinder Mannan was believed to have reached a speed in excess of 100mph in a 40mph zone before the crash in Bearwood, near Birmingham, in May 2014.

The 33-year-old, of Roundhills Road, Halesowen, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to causing the death of Rebecca McManus by losing control of his Mitsubishi Evolution.

Shortly before the crash Mannan was seen racing a BMW M3 being driven by 31-year-old businessman Inderjit Singh, of Cranbourne Avenue, Wolverhampton.

Singh was jailed for a year after admitting dangerous driving but being cleared of causing death by dangerous driving by a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Miss McManus, aged 21, had finished a three-year English Literature andCreative Writing degree at the University of East Anglia.

She was treated by paramedics, but her injuries were so catastrophic she died at the scene.

In a statement issued through West Midlands Police, her family said:

The family added that the motor industry was partly to blame for the deaths due to its "constant marketing of performance cars in terms of speed and thrills" with no acknowledgement of road safety or traffic laws.