Hit-and-run driver jailed over crash that killed cyclist
A hit-and-run driver who killed a cyclist on a Smethwick road has been jailed for nearly two years.
Dominik Dabrowski was driving a Volkswagen van when he struck Kibreab Tewelderbrhan in Lewisham Road, near its junction with Middlemore Road, in October last year.
Dabrowski fled the scene after the collision – despite his van having suffered damage to the headlight.
But, CCTV footage captured nearby then showed him doing a loop of the side streets before returning to the scene in Lewisham Street on the opposite side of the road minutes later.
Mr Tewelderbrhan, 29 and from Handsworth, was thrown from his bike in the collision which took place at around 3am on October 30, 2018.
He died in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, the following day.
Dabrowski, 31, initially told a friend who he had rented the van from that there had been a crash where the other driver had fled.
However he was traced and arrested by West Midlands Police officers days later and charged over the fatal collision.
Throughout the police investigation he denied being the driver of the van – and only admitted causing death by dangerous driving when presented with all of the evidence gathered by the investigation team.
At Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday, Dabrowski, of no fixed address, was sentenced to two years in prison, reduced to 20 months for an early guilty plea.
Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, from West Midlands Police's serious collision investigation unit, said: "Mr Tewelderbrhan lost his life through no fault of his own.
"The collision caused damage to the front of the van, including the headlight, so there is little doubt Dabrowksi would have been aware of what happened.
"It is not clear what caused Dabrowski to hit the bike but CCTV showed him returning past the scene soon after and doing nothing to assist.
"He will have to live with the consequences of his actions as will the victim’s family who have lost a loved one."
