Learner driver caught running from devastating crash scene that left mum dead
The grim moment an uninsured driver ran away from a head-on car smash that killed a woman was caught in footage. Khizer Ali crashed his mum's VW Golf into a Vauxhall Meriva carrying Valerie and David Ayres.
The couple had their lives torn apart when Valerie, 65, was instantly killed. David, 70, suffered life-changing injuries and the loss of his partner. He was airlifted to hospital on the day of the crash due to the severity of his injuries.
But as the couple lay stricken, Ali walked away from the scene. He was caught in footage looking shaken by the side of the road in a grey sweatshirt and jogging bottoms. Police tracked Ali to his home and arrested him on the day of the crash.
The incident on April 24 saw Ali behind the wheel of an 'out-of-control' car, according to West Mercia Police. They said the Ayres had 'no chance' of avoiding Ali 'when he hit them head on on the wrong side of the A441 Alvechurch Highway at 59mph on the 40mph speed limit road at around 2.30pm'. Such was the force of the shunt, the Ayres' Vauxhall was pushed into the car behind it.
Ali only held a provisional license at the time. He had been driving his sister's car, but they swapped to get 'into their mother's Golf'. He was not insured on the VW.
His sister, 20-year-old Sanaa Shahzad, let Ali drive the car while she attended an eyelash appointment. They had swapped cars just moments earlier.
Dashcam footage clocked Ali doing 62mph in a 30mph zone, causing him to have a near miss with one car. Then, he went around the A441 Sainsbury's roundabout twice, ignored the lanes and made his exit at full throttle. It was then he lost control of the car and drove straight into the Ayres.
Ali, whom cops said showed a 'total disregard' for safety, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, and a string of other offences. On Friday, a judge sentenced him to 11 years and three months.
The full list of charges Ali admitted to is as follows:
Causing death by dangerous driving
Causing serious injury by dangerous driving
Causing death by driving a vehicle without a licence or insurance
Aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving
Being the driver of a vehicle who failed to stop after a road accident
Being the driver of a vehicle involved in a road accident who failed to report that accident
Using a motor vehicle on a road / public place without third party insurance
Driving a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence
For his reckless behaviour, Ali was banned from driving for 12 years and 6 months. The ban includes 'the 7 years and 6 months of his prison term and a further 5 years after that'. He will require an extended driving test when the ban lapses.
For her part in the crash, Ali's sister Shazad admitted two counts of causing or permitting the use of a vehicle without valid insurance or a licence. She had also let another person drive the car before she lent it to her brother.
She has also been caught on the dashcam of the Golf driving dangerously around Redditch and admitted further charge of refusing the password or pin to her mobile phone. After she was bailed, Shazad is due to be sentenced on June 26.
Detective Constable Rose Hughes, lead investigator for this case, said: 'While no sentence can ever compensate for the sad loss of life in this case and the life sentence Ali's actions have imposed on the victim's family and friends, we hope that the term handed down to him today will go some way to seeing justice done.
'He showed a total disregard for the safety of the public when took the car off his sister that day, driving recklessly and dangerously which is exacerbated by the fact he should never have been behind the wheel of this car as he did not hold a full driving licence.
'We hope this sentence and the tragic outcome will teach a sobering lesson about the reason for speed limits and driving regulations to anyone thinking about ever getting behind the wheel without having passed their test or driving in such a thoughtless and selfish manner putting so many people at risk as he did.
'Ali should never be driving again. Offenders like him have no place on our roads. His sister Shahzad quite rightly bears some of the responsibility for the outcome of this tragedy too. She should never have leant him the car, especially as she knew he was a learner driver with no insurance.'
Valerie's daughter Lucy said her mum was her 'best friend' and was the only person she 'would talk to about everything'. David, recovering from his injuries, said his wife was the 'life and soul of the party'.
He added: 'My life has been turned upside down, I can't express how much I miss Val and wish the whole thing never happened.'
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