Latest news with #MuhammadQasim
The Independent
5 days ago
- The Independent
Fatal crash of car being followed by police caused by ‘speed, alcohol and drugs'
A driver who crashed his car into a tree while being followed by police died as a result of an accident caused by the speed he was driving at as well as the influence of alcohol and cannabis, a jury has found. The jury, sitting at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court, found that Muhammad Qasim was aware of Pc Paul Withers following him in his marked police vehicle in Island Road, Birmingham, in the early hours of October 2 2023 before he lost control of his BMW and crashed. The 29-year-old died in hospital having suffered 'catastrophic' head injuries when he was ejected from the vehicle after crashing into a tree on the central reservation as he was not wearing his seatbelt at the time. He was also one and a half times over the drink-drive limit and had recently used cannabis, with a surviving passenger telling police Mr Qasim had been 'mashed' in the hours prior to the crash having drunk vodka. Pc Withers told the inquest that Mr Qasim appeared to have control of his vehicle but it came to his attention on the 30mph Church Lane because it was speeding, leading to him informing the control room over the radio that the BMW was 'absolutely flying'. Mr Qasim had been doing 'loops' of Island Road, with the police car following, and had suggested to his passengers that he was going to stop the car and they should run just before the collision, the inquest heard. The Pc, who was not trained to carry out pursuits as a standard response officer, denied that he was ever in pursuit of Mr Qasim's vehicle, telling the inquest that he was following the car to try and get intelligence including the registration number. He told the inquest he was 'perplexed' by the BMW driver repeatedly looping up and down Island Road as they did not appear to be trying to evade the police car which led him to question whether Mr Qasim even knew of the officer's presence. Senior coroner Louise Hunt said the purpose of the inquest was to examine the events leading up to the collision, the manner of driving of the officer and Mr Qasim, whether the events amounted to a police pursuit and if so, if it was compliant with West Midlands Police practice standards and general guidance, and whether there is any relevance to the manner of the driving of the police officer and Mr Qasim to the causation of his death. Before they returned a conclusion of road traffic accident, Mrs Hunt told the jury they should not record that there was a police pursuit because two independent police driving experts said they had no criticism of Pc Withers's driving, that he was 'entitled' to follow the car and that he had not indicated to Mr Qasim that he wanted him to stop and did not have his blue lights on. Both experts – Jonathan Little, chief driving instructor for Staffordshire Police and Paul Trowman, the chief driving instructor for West Midlands Police – agreed that even if there had been a 'spontaneous' pursuit, the crash would likely still have happened because of Mr Qasim's speed and contributory factors of alcohol intoxication and drugs. Referring to the final loop both Mr Qasim, and then eight seconds after, Pc Withers made before continuing along Island Road, the jury said: 'At this point, Qasim and the occupants of the vehicle were aware the police vehicle was behind them and Qasim accelerated quickly to gain distance between his vehicle and the police vehicle with the intention of abandoning the vehicle. 'As Qasim accelerated out of sight of the police vehicle along Island Road, he failed to negotiate a left-hand bend, losing control of the vehicle, mounting the grassed central reservation and hitting two trees before the vehicle came to rest on the road. The road conditions were damp but the weather was dry. 'Qasim had been ejected from the vehicle when it had hit the tree due to not wearing the driver's seatbelt. 'He suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of the crash. The accident was caused by the speed Qasim was driving, his driving ability was impaired from drinking alcohol and being 1.5 times over the drink-drive limit and having smoked cannabis. 'The way Qasim was driving had also been influenced by the presence of the police vehicle.' Mrs Hunt thanked the jury for their 'attention, patience and hard work' and said she would be creating a prevention of future deaths report in relation to two issues. She said she would write to the College of Policing, who provide guidance on pursuits to police forces, to ask them to 'clarify how the paragraph on spontaneous pursuit is applied' by officers. The coroner also said she would write to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in relation to the lack of a forensic collision report following the crash and what investigative responsibilities continue when investigating conduct in fatal incidents. Addressing Mr Qasim's father in the court room and his sisters who listened to proceedings online, she said: 'Thank you for your patience, it must have brought back tragic memories. 'Please do look after yourselves, it has been a very difficult time for you all.'
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Birmingham crash inquest jury told not to record police pursuit
Jurors at the inquest into the death of a man who crashed his car into a tree while being followed by police must not record that there was a pursuit, a coroner has jury retired to consider their conclusion in the inquest of Muhammad Qasim at Birmingham Coroner's Court on Tuesday morning after four days of 29-year-old suffered "catastrophic" head injuries when he crashed his BMW into a tree on a central reservation on Island Road in Birmingham in the early hours of 2 October 2023 and died in hospital later that was being followed at the time by a marked police car driven by West Midlands Police response officer PC Paul Withers. PC Withers told the inquest the BMW first came to his attention because it was speeding in a 30mph zone on nearby Church Qasim, who had two passengers in the car at the time of the crash, was over the drink-drive limit, had recently used cannabis, was speeding and not wearing his seatbelt when he failed to negotiate a left-hand bend in the road and suffered fatal injuries after being ejected from the had been doing "loops" of Island Road, with the police car following, and had suggested to his passengers that he was going to stop the car and they should run just before the collision, the inquest Withers told the court he had been "perplexed" by the BMW driver's behaviour as they did not appear to be trying to put distance between them and the police car in the way he had usually seen when a driver is trying to evade the police. 'Not a pursuit' Two police driving experts last week told the inquest they had no criticism of Mr Withers' driving before the BMW accepted that the officer, who was not trained to carry out police pursuits, was following the vehicle to gain intelligence, such as the registration plate, so database checks could be such, the jury may not record that any part of the incident amounted to a police pursuit, senior coroner Louise Hunt told them before they retired to start their said: "I have a legal direction to give you and you must accept it. In light of the expert evidence, you may not record that any part of the events amounted to a police pursuit."Both experts agreed they had no criticism of the way PC Withers was driving and was entitled to follow the vehicle to ascertain further intelligence."There were questions of the expert witnesses about whether PC Withers was in a pursuit at any time."Both agreed there was not a pursuit at any time as he did not indicate to Mr Qasim any requirement to stop at any stage." 'No difference to outcome' Both experts - Jonathan Little, chief driving instructor for Staffordshire Police and Paul Trowman, the chief driving instructor for West Midlands Police - were asked whether a spontaneous police pursuit to College of Policing guidance, a spontaneous pursuit occurs when the actions of the suspect driver in deciding to flee are triggered by the presence of a police vehicle, and there is no prior warning or sufficient time to develop a specific strategy or Little felt that a spontaneous pursuit may have started on the final "loop" of Island Road, just before the crash happened, but both experts agreed that even if it had, the crash would likely still have happened because of Mr Qasim's speed and contributory factors of alcohol intoxication and Hunt said: "They both agreed that whether or not there was a pursuit made no difference to the outcome as the crash was simultaneous to the start of any pursuit."She added that the jury must decide the case based solely on the evidence heard in the courtroom and must come to a unanimous decision. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Independent
6 days ago
- The Independent
Jury in crash inquest told they ‘may not record there was a police pursuit'
Jurors in an inquest into the death of a man who crashed his car into a tree while being followed by police must not record that there was a pursuit, a coroner has said. The jury retired to consider their conclusion in the inquest of Muhammad Qasim at Birmingham Coroners Court on Tuesday morning after four days of evidence. The 29-year-old suffered 'catastrophic' head injuries when he crashed his BMW into a tree on a central reservation on Island Road in Birmingham in the early hours of October 2 2023 and died in hospital later that day. He was being followed at the time by a marked police car driven by West Midlands Police response officer Pc Paul Withers, who told the inquest the BMW first came to his attention because it was speeding in a 30mph zone on nearby Church Lane. Mr Qasim, who had two passengers in the car at the time of the crash, was over the drink-drive limit, had recently used cannabis, was speeding and not wearing his seatbelt when he failed to negotiate a left-hand bend in the road and suffered fatal injuries after being ejected from the vehicle. He had been doing 'loops' of Island Road, with the police car following, and had suggested to his passengers that he was going to stop the car and they should run just before the collision, the inquest heard. Pc Withers told the court he had been 'perplexed' by the BMW driver's behaviour as they did not appear to be trying to put distance between them and the police car in the way he had usually seen when a driver is trying to evade the police. Two police driving experts last week told the inquest they had no criticism of Pc Withers's driving before the BMW crashed, accepting that the officer, who was not trained to carry out police pursuits, was following the vehicle to gain intelligence, such as the registration plate, so database checks could be made. As such, the jury may not record that any part of the incident amounted to a police pursuit, senior coroner Louise Hunt told them before they retired to start their deliberations. She said: 'I have a legal direction to give you and you must accept it. In light of the expert evidence, you may not record that any part of the events amounted to a police pursuit.' She added: 'Both experts agreed they had no criticism of the way Pc Withers was driving and was entitled to follow the vehicle to ascertain further intelligence. 'There were questions of the expert witnesses about whether Pc Withers was in a pursuit at any time. 'Both agreed there was not a pursuit at any time as he did not indicate to Mr Qasim any requirement to stop at any stage.' Both experts – Jonathan Little, chief driving instructor for Staffordshire Police and Paul Trowman, the chief driving instructor for West Midlands Police – were asked whether a spontaneous police pursuit happened. According to College of Policing guidance, a spontaneous pursuit occurs when the actions of the suspect driver in deciding to flee are triggered by the presence of a police vehicle, and there is no prior warning or sufficient time to develop a specific strategy or plan. Mr Little felt that a spontaneous pursuit may have started on the final 'loop' of Island Road, just before the crash happened, but both experts agreed that even if it had, the crash would likely still have happened because of Mr Qasim's speed and contributory factors of alcohol intoxication and drugs. Mrs Hunt said: 'They both agreed that whether or not there was a pursuit made no difference to the outcome as the crash was simultaneous to the start of any pursuit.' She added that the jury must decide the case based solely on the evidence heard in the courtroom and must come to a unanimous decision.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Jury in crash inquest told they ‘may not record there was a police pursuit'
Jurors in an inquest into the death of a man who crashed his car into a tree while being followed by police must not record that there was a pursuit, a coroner has said. The jury retired to consider their conclusion in the inquest of Muhammad Qasim at Birmingham Coroners Court on Tuesday morning after four days of evidence. The 29-year-old suffered 'catastrophic' head injuries when he crashed his BMW into a tree on a central reservation on Island Road in Birmingham in the early hours of October 2 2023 and died in hospital later that day. He was being followed at the time by a marked police car driven by West Midlands Police response officer Pc Paul Withers, who told the inquest the BMW first came to his attention because it was speeding in a 30mph zone on nearby Church Lane. Mr Qasim, who had two passengers in the car at the time of the crash, was over the drink-drive limit, had recently used cannabis, was speeding and not wearing his seatbelt when he failed to negotiate a left-hand bend in the road and suffered fatal injuries after being ejected from the vehicle. He had been doing 'loops' of Island Road, with the police car following, and had suggested to his passengers that he was going to stop the car and they should run just before the collision, the inquest heard. Pc Withers told the court he had been 'perplexed' by the BMW driver's behaviour as they did not appear to be trying to put distance between them and the police car in the way he had usually seen when a driver is trying to evade the police. Two police driving experts last week told the inquest they had no criticism of Pc Withers's driving before the BMW crashed, accepting that the officer, who was not trained to carry out police pursuits, was following the vehicle to gain intelligence, such as the registration plate, so database checks could be made. As such, the jury may not record that any part of the incident amounted to a police pursuit, senior coroner Louise Hunt told them before they retired to start their deliberations. She said: 'I have a legal direction to give you and you must accept it. In light of the expert evidence, you may not record that any part of the events amounted to a police pursuit.' She added: 'Both experts agreed they had no criticism of the way Pc Withers was driving and was entitled to follow the vehicle to ascertain further intelligence. 'There were questions of the expert witnesses about whether Pc Withers was in a pursuit at any time. 'Both agreed there was not a pursuit at any time as he did not indicate to Mr Qasim any requirement to stop at any stage.' Both experts – Jonathan Little, chief driving instructor for Staffordshire Police and Paul Trowman, the chief driving instructor for West Midlands Police – were asked whether a spontaneous police pursuit happened. According to College of Policing guidance, a spontaneous pursuit occurs when the actions of the suspect driver in deciding to flee are triggered by the presence of a police vehicle, and there is no prior warning or sufficient time to develop a specific strategy or plan. Mr Little felt that a spontaneous pursuit may have started on the final 'loop' of Island Road, just before the crash happened, but both experts agreed that even if it had, the crash would likely still have happened because of Mr Qasim's speed and contributory factors of alcohol intoxication and drugs. Mrs Hunt said: 'They both agreed that whether or not there was a pursuit made no difference to the outcome as the crash was simultaneous to the start of any pursuit.' She added that the jury must decide the case based solely on the evidence heard in the courtroom and must come to a unanimous decision.
BBC News
21-06-2025
- BBC News
Birmingham driver told passengers 'to run' before fatal crash
A driver who was being followed by police told his passengers to "jump out of the car and run" moments before he crashed into a tree and suffered fatal injuries, an inquest has Qasim, 29, was captured speaking on an 18-second video taken by back seat passenger Mohammed Ibrahim before the crash on Island Road, Handsworth, in the early hours of 2 October Qasim died in hospital after suffering "catastrophic head injuries".The BMW had been followed by PC Paul Withers, of West Midlands Police, who denied he was in pursuit of the vehicle, which he said had been travelling "easily double" the 30mph speed limit. He told the inquest at Birmingham Coroner's Court that he had been carrying out intelligence checks on the car and did not know if Mr Qasim was aware he was following him because his manner of driving did not change and the officer did not have his blue lights on. But on Friday, Mr Ibrahim said Mr Qasim had been aware of the police car and sped up as he drove "loops" around Island the video, shown to jurors, Mr Qasim could be heard telling his passengers to "jump out of the car and run".Mr Ibrahim could then be heard telling him to "chill", which he said was him trying to tell the driver to slow down, with Mr Qasim telling him to "shut up".Mr Ibrahim, who was severely injured in the crash, said he did not see Mr Qasim drinking alcohol or smoking, but the inquest previously heard the driver had been was one-and-a-half times over the drink-drive limit, had recently smoked cannabis, and was not wearing a said he started filming because he had earlier been stopped and searched. 'Wanted to pull over' Front seat passenger Ria Garcha, picked up by Mr Qasim the previous evening, said the pair had been drinking and he had empty vodka bottles in his car he wanted to get rid said: "When we first saw the police, the boy [Mr Ibrahim] said, 'oh there's the police' and he put his foot down and went faster."I was telling him to slow down, they weren't coming."They were telling me to shut up. I couldn't seen any lights or sirens behind us."A couple of minutes later the boy said the police were there again."Ms Garcha told the inquest Mr Qasim said he "wanted to pull over and run", adding he "told us to be ready".She said he "drove really fast" before crashing into the tree. Independent expert Jonathan Little, Staffordshire Police chief driving instructor, said he had "no criticism" of PC Withers's and Paul Trowman, chief driving instructor for West Midlands Police, agreed the collision, on the balance of probability, would have happened regardless of the officer's agreed the crash was a combination of speed, alcohol and Trowman did not train PC Withers but said that he had initial training in 2009 and refresher training in 2015 and inquest continues. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
