JAILED: Driver who raced at 90mph in 40mph zone seriously injuring woman in smash
An MOT tester who left a woman with serious injuries after racing a fellow Mercedes driver at 90mph along the Birmingham New Road has been put behind bars for nearly three years.
Vaqaas Khan, aged 30, was goaded into the race by his opponent near the Birchley Island, Oldbury, shortly after midnight on September 21, 2014.
He reached a speed of 90mph in his Mercedes-AMG in a bid to catch his rival who suddenly switched lanes at the junction of Titford Road to avoid a car attempting to join the road.
Prosecuting Siobhan Collins said Khan was travelling too fast to react and smashed into the Audi A3 being driven by Gurpreep Goroya, then aged 25.
The engine from the Audi was ripped from the car and sent flying 100 metres down the road, near to Asda.
Khan's Mercedes – also occupied by his two brothers and brother-in-law – burst into flames.
The driver of the other Mercedes has never been identified.
Miss Goroya's injuries were so severe a passer-by who went to help thought she was dead, said Miss Collins.
The former beauty therapist from London had to be cut from her car and at hospital spent four days in a medically induced coma after the horrific accident, the court was told.
The injuries that she suffered in the crash included a collapsed lung, bleeding in her kidney, a fractured pelvis and broken bones in her arms and legs.
Miss Collins, said: "This has affected her self-esteem. She had needed metal plates in her body which have taken their toll.
"She is now also showing early signs of arthritis.
"She has been told she will need a hip replacement in the next ten years.
"She can't walk long distances and she panics if she has to go in a car. She is also unable to work."
Appearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court for sentencing, Khan, of Lea Road, Penn Fields, was jailed for two years and seven months.
He was banned from driving for three-and-a-half years having previously admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Gurdeep Garcha, defending, described the incident as a 'serious lapse in judgement' by his client. He said: "My client is a married man of good character which makes what he did all the more unfathomable."
He added: "He had previously been a law-abiding man. Set against that what he did was out of character and a serious lapse in judgement which of course had serious consequences."
