Six months in jail for man who killed pregnant mother in crash

A speeding driver who caused a crash which killed a heavily-pregnant mum and her unborn child will serve just six months in jail.

Victim Tahira Parveen, who was eight-months pregnant with her third child, had just taken her daughter to her first day at nursery.

BMW driver Shammas Rehman – who had never driven the car before – was jailed for 12 months but will serve only half that period behind bars.

The sentence was condemned by Mrs Parveen’s angry husband, Zubair Hussain.

He said after the hearing:

Mrs Parveen, aged 30, was hit by the BMW and pinned against a wall, which collapsed on top of her .

Another mother and two young children were also hurt in the crash in Heybarnes Road, Small Heath, Birmingham, on September 6, 2013.

One – a boy of four walking to his first day at school – was left in a wheelchair for seven months.

The court heard Rehman borrowed the BMW 3 series from a family friend who owned a car hire business.

He intended to drive to London for a family wedding.

Christopher Hotten QC, defending, said the two-litre vehicle was more powerful than the Smart car he owned and was a rear-wheel drive, which he was unfamiliar with.

Rehman had picked up a friend on the day of the crash and was on his way to a Next clothes store to buy an outfit for the wedding.

Crash witnesses said he lost control of the BMW, which spun onto the pavement and collided with the young women and children.

Mrs Parveen was walking home after leaving her daughter at nursery on the child’s first day at Starbank Primary School in Small Heath.

Birmingham Crown Court heard the car would have failed an MoT test because its Dynamic Stability Control system was faulty.

The court was told a driver should “moderate speed and exercise caution” with such a fault.

Rehman had spotted the warning light – as had his passenger – but ignored it and had not adjusted his driving to compensate, the court heard.

He also admitted driving above the 30mph speed limit – but not significantly in excess of it.

And Rehman accepted that his wheels had crossed a mini-roundabout moments before the crash and that he had accelerated inappropriately given the road and weather conditions.

The 23-year-old, of Charles Road, Small Heath, was originally charged with causing death by dangerous driving and was due to face trial last month.

But his guilty plea to the alternative charge of causing death by careless driving was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

He was also banned from driving for two-and-a-half years.

Passing sentence, Judge Francis Laird told Rehman:

Mr Hotten said Rehman had showed “genuine and continuing remorse” and did not intend to drive again.

After the hearing, Mr Hussain called on the government to review sentencing for drivers who caused fatal accidents.