Dangerous driver jailed

9:58am Saturday 21st June 2008

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A SOUTHALL man whose driving led to the death of a 34-year-old man as he was crossing the road has been jailed for just eight months.

Naushaad Hussain, 20, who knocked a man down in Lady Margaret Road and almost hit a couple in a side road as he left the scene, was jailed for the lies he told to cover up his crime.

He sent a text to his brother, saying "Don't tell Dad I had an accident, say it was stolen", as he drove away from the scene.

Originally charged with causing the death of 34-year-old Harvinder Birdi, Hussain, of Regina Road, Southall, admitted careless driving, dangerous driving relating to the near-miss, attempting to pervert the course of justice by reporting the car stolen, giving false information to obtain insurance, and failing to stop following an accident.

Prosecutor Hannah Duncan told Isleworth Crown Court that his pleas were acceptable because they had been unable to prove he was driving under the influence of cannabis or that he was on the phone at the time.

Mr Birdi, a promotions manager of Ascot Gardens, Southall, was hit by a hire-car driven by Hussain on May 3 last year and died soon after from multiple injuries.

Ms Duncan said: "Someone waiting at a bus-stop described the car as going quite fast. She then heard a thud.” A couple crossing a side road then had to jump clear as the car "swerved round the corner, without any indication, going quite fast and narrowly missing them”.

Mr Birdi was helped by a passing doctor and nurse but he died when he arrived at hospital.

A damaged Vauxhall Astra was found in a nearby service road later that day, and Hussain reported it missing the next morning.

He was arrested that day and traces of cannabis were found in his blood.

He admitted taking a phone call before the accident but claimed the phone was on his lap on loud-speaker.

Hussain had also lied to an insurance company saying his mother was his wife to get cheaper insurance.

Asking for a prison sentence to be suspended, John Greenan, defending Hussain, said that his initial reaction was "sheer panic" and that he was "essentially an honest young man with good prospects".

Judge Richard McGregor-Johnson told him: "It was only by good fortune that you did not kill or seriously injure another person.

"You sought to persuade others to say that the car had been stolen. That may have been in panic. But your next action was taken coolly and with time to think about it.

“You knew you had been involved in a serious accident with a pedestrian who had been thrown over your car, causing the windscreen to shatter. You must have known that pedestrian had been at least seriously injured.”