Audi driver who caused deaths of young brothers in Wolverhampton sentenced to 13 years

ITV News Central's Hannah Kings reports...

The driver of an Audi car has been sentenced to 13 years over the deaths of a toddler and his 10-year-old sibling by racing with another motorist who crashed into the victims' car.

The fatal collision happened on Wolverhampton's Birmingham New Road at 8.45pm on 14 March 2019.

Two brothers, including a 23-month-old baby, were killed when an Audi ploughed into the BMW their mother was driving.

Sanjay Singh, 10, and his younger brother Pawanveer both died instantly. Their mother suffered spinal chord injuries.

The driver of the Audi, 27-year-old Mohammed Sullaiman Khan, fled the scene immediately.

Watch as a Audi driver was caught on CCTV racing with another motorist who crashed at a traffic light killing two young brothers.

Khan was allegedly racing at 'catastrophically high speeds' against a stranger - Hamza Shahid.

Witnesses described spotting two men dangerously racing 'bumper to bumper' moments before the impact, with one describing the pair as driving 'erratically like lunatics'.

Travelling at speeds of 92mph, Khan's Audi A3 smashed into the BMW.

Shahid stopped his Bentley just seconds before the crash, 'braking sharply' at red traffic lights close to the scene of the collision.

Arathi Nahar - the driver of the BMW - had 'no chance' of avoiding the deadly collision as her car was 'propelled' onto the pavement and hurtled into metal railings.

She had just picked up fish and chips from the eatery where her husband worked and was travelling along the 'familiar route' back home.

Sanjay was nine days away from celebrating his eleventh birthday before he died. He sat in the front passenger seat and his younger brother was sitting at the back of the white BMW.

What has been heard during the trial?

Jurors heard how a 'false report' was made to police, suggesting a burglar who had stolen the Audi was to blame for the crash.

Robert Price, prosecuting, said that this was 'all a tissue of lies'. He told Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday that Sullaiman Khan, of Pershore Road in Edgbaston, returned to the scene of the fatal crash at around 11pm that night but did not hand himself in.

Two days after the crash, Sullaiman Khan turned up at a police station to hand himself in and presented a prepared statement denying any involvement, but later admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, one count of causing serious injury and perverting the course of justice.

His brother, Asim Khan, of Shaftmoor Lane, Hall Green, also denied involvement but was found guilty at trial of perverting the course of justice for lying to police about the burglary and was given an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Sullaiman Khan was jailed for 11 years for causing the deaths of Sanjay and Pawanveer, 38 months to run concurrently for seriously injuring their mother and two years to run consecutively for perverting the course of justice.

He was also disqualified from driving for seven years upon his release and must take an extended driving test.

There were sobs from the public gallery as he was taken down to the cells.

Hamza Shahid, 36, denied two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was cleared of causing the deaths of the boys after a three-week trial in September.

'My house, my life and I died on March 14 2019.'

Before the pair were sentenced, the court was read a statement from Ms Nahar, which told how her life changed the day her “beautiful” sons were killed.

Sullaiman Khan, wearing a grey suit, and Asim Khan, wearing a checked shirt and a dark body warmer, looked down as the statement was read by Mr Price.

It said: “My sons gave me joy and a reason to get up each day.

“They had their own strong bond and relationship and Sanjay would sing songs and nursery rhymes to his brother and I would hear the laughter and fun they had between them.

“My house, my life and I died on March 14 2019. Every birthday and Christmas, I feel I am not able to function because the trauma is unbearable.

“My confidence and happiness has all been stripped away. This should never have happened but it did. Why did this tragedy happen to me and my two special sons?

“My sons’ lives were taken in a horrific way and there is no coming back from that.”

'I felt a rush of wind'

Members of the public witnessed the alleged racing cars and the collision.

One woman told how she felt a 'rush of wind' as the Audi travelled past her, describing the speed as 'off the scale'.

A man told police how the BMW was struck with so much force its wheels lifted off the ground.

He went on to say how he had seen the two cars 'roar past him' as they drove along the road 'bumper to bumper'.

The witness added: "Both vehicles were driven dangerously, erratically like lunatics, clearly racing each other."

'A concerted cover up'

Mr Price at Wolverhampton Crown Court told the jury: "You can be sure that a race caused the accident and the death and serious injury and there was a concerted cover up by friends and family.

"Mohammed Sullaiman Khan's friends and family came to his aid out of loyalty to him and then conspired to cover it up and to suggest he was not involved is an affront to common sense."

But Talbir Singh, defending Asim Khan in his summing up to the jury, said the telephone calls made between him and his brother after the crash were not long enough, being only around two minutes long.

The calls, and another one to a solicitor, were played to the jury in court.

He said: "You have now heard the calls, the ones the prosecution are using to support what they say was part of an elaborate scheme thought up between the two brothers to deflect from what had happened – it is clear there is no evidence for this.

"Furthermore it is an insult to common sense that he would make a telephone call to a solicitor if he had already agreed to be part of a cover up.

"If you look at the circumstantial evidence it shows that the calls were spontaneous and not part of any plan."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...