'Nothing I say will soften the hurt and the anguish' - Judge condemns West Midlands driver who killed two-year-old then fled
A judge condemned the actions of a killer driver who caused a crash which killed a beloved two-year-old boy while behind the wheel of a stolen car.
Sharjeel Shahzad, who has been jailed for more than 15 years, was disqualified when the stolen Porsche Cayenne he was driving ploughed into a Toyota Auris containing two-year-old Shehbaz Singh, his parents Khushpreet Kaur and Amritpal Singh, and their close friends, the driver Baljit Singh and Pavanpreet Kaur.
The crash happened on Dartmouth Road, Smethwick at the junction of Roebuck Lane just before 11pm on December 14 last year and saw Shahzad, who was said in court to be travelling at over 50mph in a 30 zone, lose control on a blind bend.
The Toyota's occupants, two-year-old Shehbaz Singh and his mother Khushpreet Kaur, father Amritpal Singh, and their close friends Baljit Singh and Pavanpreet Kaur, were seriously injured.
Khushpreet remains unconscious in hospital to this day, having suffered life-changing injuries including to her brain - she has not yet been told about the death of her son.
All the occupants of the car suffered catastrophic injuries and the court was told that whilst some of them were now recovering physically, they were left with the trauma of what happened on that fateful night.
In the aftermath of the accident, which caused shock in the community, Shehbaz's uncle Indy Singh set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to raise money for the funeral and future care for Khushpreet.
In an emotional post, the uncle said: "The night of December 14 is one we will never forget, a driver caused the death of my two-year-old nephew, injuries to my brother and multiple severe injuries to my sister-in-law.
"My younger brother, Amritpal, his wife, Khushpreet, and their two-year-old son, Shehbaz Singh, were driving the few minutes home from a lovely dinner at a friends house when a driver crashed into them causing the death of two-year-old Shehbaz, injuring Amritpal and leaving Khushpreet in critical care in hospital."
"The driver fled the scene."
Shahzad left the scene of the crash but was arrested two days later after forensic examinations discovered his fingerprints on the false number plate of the Porsche and his DNA from the vehicle's airbag.
He denied the offence but was picked out from an identity parade by a witness to the crash who had tried to stop him running away in its aftermath.
In April he changed his plea to causing death by dangerous driving to guilty.
Shahzad also admitted two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, driving with no insurance and failing to stop after a collision.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard he had a history of motoring offences and appeared before magistrates in May last year for driving without a licence or insurance.
On June 10 last year, he led police on a high-speed chase on the M42 after making off in a Audi A4 Avant that had been been advertised on Facebook in Belton, Leicestershire. The prosecution said he had stolen the car after taking it on a test drive, and later the one used in the Smethwick crash.
Jailing Shahzad on Friday (July 4), Judge Jonathan Gosling said in sentencing he had to take into account the culpability of the crime and aggravating factors.
He said: "By overtaking on a blind bend you were causing a deliberate risk to others with a highly dangerous manoeuvre and so it proved with the loss of life and injuries to all the people in the other car which were not just physical but will impact on them mentally, possibly for the rest of their lives.
"You had a history of driving offences including being a disqualified driver and uninsured but one of the worst factors was that you failed to stop at the scene despite another driver remonstrating with you, and you sought to evade capture.
"No words I say or sentence I pass down will soften the hurt and the anguish the family feel but it is clear that these offences lie at the top end of the scale and you will be in prison for a substantial term with a lengthy driving ban that will cover that and the time after your release."
