Murder trial involving TikTok star hears Skoda spun out of control into tree on A46 in Leicester
The jury in the trial of TikTok star Mahek Bukhari and others accused of murder has heard how the crash victims' car spun out of control and flew into the air before smashing into a tree on the central reservation of the A46 near Leicester.
This morning, on the ninth day of the trial, collision investigator Detective Sergeant Christopher Coe described how the car split into two and its engine was flung out of the vehicle by the force of the "high speed impact".
The trial at Leicester Crown Court has previously been told that there was a pursuit along the dual carriageway which reached speeds of up to 100mph before the fatal crash, about a mile south of the Six Hills junction, at 1.30am on Friday 11 February.
The jury was told that Bukhari's mother, Ansreen Bukhari, had been in a three-year extra-marital affair with one of the fatal car crash victims, Saqib Hussain, 21.
Jurors heard how, shortly before the crash, Mr Hussain had phoned 999, telling the operator: "I'm being followed by two vehicles.
"They're trying to block me in. They've got balaclavas on.
"They're trying to ram me off the road. They're trying to kill me. I'm going to die."
He was said to be trying to blackmail the family into paying him £2,000, threatening that he would post explicit pictures and videos of the 45-year-old defendant on the internet.
The prosecution told the court that an ambush was arranged to steal Saqib's phone to seize the sexual images.
A meeting was arranged and Mr Hussain had his friend, Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, drive to meet Bukhari and her mother at Tesco in Hamilton, Leicester.
But they appeared to have sensed a trap and fled up the A46 in a Skoda Fabia, with Saqib phoning the police on 999 telling them they were being rammed by two other vehicles and someone was trying to kill them.
Det Sgt Coe estimated the Skoda Fabia containing Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin and Saqib Hussain was going at 89mph in the seconds before the crash, while an Audi allegedly pursuing the Skoda was, based on telemetry data, doing 97mph. Mr Ijazuddin and Mr Hussain were killed in the crash.
Det Sgt Coe said the evidence showed the Skoda had left the carriageway a couple of times before the crash, and had then rotated and travelled sideways along the road before becoming "airborne" and hitting the tree.
The court was told that there was also a point, just before the fatal crash, when the Skoda had swerved off the road, leaving a mark on the grass, and hit the barrier, leaving behind some paint.
A little further on, the Skoda hit the central reservation barrier a second time, causing damage. Det Sgt Coe said: "The barrier had sheared away from uprights and forced them downwards."
Despite the blaze that destroyed much of the Skoda, one wheel came off and escaped the fire.
Damage to the tyre had "perpendicular scuff marks [that] are evidence the vehicle is yawing, generally moving sideways", said the officer. He said the vehicle would certainly have been "out of control" at that point.
Det Sgt Coe said there was damage to the tree "indicating the vehicle was airborne" when it made contact, at a point just to the left of where the Skoda badge was on the front of the bonnet.
The vehicle was facing the tree, pitched slightly forwards at the moment it collided, he said.
The eight defendants, who all deny charges of murder and of manslaughter, are:
Natasha Akhtar, (aged 22), of Alum Rock Road, Birmingham
Ansreen Bukhari, (45), of George Eardley Close, Stoke
Mahek Bukhari, (23), of George Eardley Close, Stoke
Raees Jamal, (22), of Lingdale Close, Loughborough
Rekan Karwan, (28), of Tomlin Road, Leicester
Mohammed Patel, (20), of Braybrooke Road, Leicester
Sanaf Gulammustafa, (22), of Littlemore Close, Crown Hills, Leicester
Ammeer Jamal, (27), of Catherine Street, Belgrave, Leicester
The trial continues.