Driver who killed mother and daughter on Boxing Day was ‘racing' at up to 84mph

Independent

a day ago

A driver who killed a mother and her daughter in a head-on Boxing Day crash had been 'racing' with another car at up to 84mph in a 30mph zone, a court has heard.
Mohammed Ibrahim, 25, fled the scene after his BMW 420 – travelling 'in convoy' with a BMW X3 – crashed into a quad bike and then hit an MG car containing four generations of the same family.
Birmingham Crown Court was told on Wednesday that Amanda Riley, 49, and Linda Philips, 72, both died at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics to save them at the roadside in the Shard End area of the city.
Four other family members travelling in the MG suffered injuries, including a fractured sternum, a broken leg requiring surgery and bruising to the lungs.
Describing the circumstances of the crash at Ibrahim's sentencing hearing, prosecutor Philip Vollans said the victims were travelling home from family celebrations on the evening of December 26 2023.
Before showing video footage to the sentencing judge of Ibrahim's car speeding past a bus towards the crash site on Meadway, at its junction with Kitt's Green Road, Mr Vollans said the driver of the BMW X3 had never been traced.
Mr Vollans said of the two BMWs: 'Both cars were speeding, both cars racing each other.
'The defendant was the faster driver of the two.'
Estimating that Ibrahim was speeding for at least half a mile before the 'tremendous' impact, reaching 80-84mph, Mr Vollans added that the defendant initially hit a quad bike, which had run a red light, and lost control while in the wrong lane.
Ibrahim, of Old College Road, Sheldon, then hit the kerb of the central reservation and crashed into the family's car as it slowed down on the opposite carriageway.
The driver's seat of the MG was knocked out of its fixings and it caught fire, leaving its occupants trapped as a member of the public attempted to free them.
A witness saw Ibrahim, who was saying 'I need to go', lying on the ground near the driver's side of the BMW before he left the scene.
His car was also on fire following the crash, the court heard.
The court heard Ibrahim was caught on CCTV at Heartlands Hospital, where he was treated for a leg injury, and he later returned to the scene, where he was arrested but refused a breath test.
Mr Vollans added: 'Both cars were completely destroyed as a consequence of this collision.'
Three relatives of the victims, including the driver of the car, read victim impact statements to the court, with one describing those killed as having 'died fighting for their lives, lying on a cold roadside, scared and in tremendous pain'.
In a statement read into the court record by Mr Vollans, George Philips, the husband of Linda, said: 'Our family are the centre of our world. The aftermath (of the crash) was the complete devastation of my family.
'My wife and daughter had both died. My world fell apart. I felt an immense emptiness.'
Amanda and Linda were both hard-working, doted on their families and would help anyone, Mr Philips added.
Defence barrister Jasvir Mann, offering mitigation, told the court that Ibrahim has no previous convictions and there was ample evidence, including references, that he had 'led a thoroughly positive life'.
Mr Mann said: 'My instructions are that he has no meaningful memory of that day.'
The actions of the quad bike rider, who also left the scene and has never been identified, had contributed to what happened, Mr Mann added.
Ibrahim pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
The defendant is due to be sentenced by Judge Paul Farrer KC later on Wednesday.