Man jailed for killing friend in roundabout crash

A man has been jailed for causing the death of a teenager and seriously injuring another boy when the car he was driving crashed into railings on a Sheffield roundabout.

Hamza Hussain, 23, of Harney Close in Darnall, was driving a black VW Golf which crashed on the A61 St Mary's Gate roundabout at 01:55 BST on 17 June 2024, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

The front-seat passenger, 18-year-old Mohammed Waheed, died in hospital and the 15-year-old rear passenger suffered life-changing injuries.

Hussain earlier admitted causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving without insurance. He was jailed on Tuesday for five years and four months.

Judge Graham Reeds KC told the court that Hussain, who was 21 at the time, was an "inexperienced" driver in a powerful car going "too fast for the road conditions".

Before entering the roundabout, at 49mph, the judge said he had been driving at 61mph in a 40mph zone.

Police said CCTV showed him speeding at 60mph in 30mph zones elsewhere in Sheffield.

After the crash, Hussain fled the scene "leaving his friends injured, unresponsive and close to death in the car".

The judge said Hussain returned to the car when the police arrived but did not admit he was driving.

He also lied about his injuries, "an obvious attempt to avoid responsibility", and it was only when he realised he would inevitably be discovered to have been the driver that he handed himself in the following morning.

"Even then you lied about how your injuries had been caused and about the speed of the crash," the judge said.

The boy who survived, now 17, only did so through medical treatment, he added, and said he would suffer a "lifetime" of complications "with all the worry and risk inherent in that condition for a young person".

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Waheed's mother said her son was "missed beyond measure".

"This wasn't just one life lost," she said.

"His death has shattered so many lives around him.

"No sentence or words will bring him back, no justice will reflect the depth of what we've lost.

"He was loved beyond words, he's missed beyond measure. He was our heart, he was our pride and always will be. Without our son nothing is the same."

As well as the jail sentence, Hussain was disqualified from driving for seven years and eight months, ordered to pay a victim surcharge, and told he must take an extended re-test once out of prison.

Sgt John Taylor of South Yorkshire Police said Hussain's custodial sentence would "never undo the death and destruction caused by his actions [but] justice for Mohammed and his family has been achieved".

He continued: "Our thoughts remain with Mohammed's family, friends and all those who loved him.

"I hope that today's sentencing sends a strong warning to those who have a lack of regard for the law. We know that those who drive without insurance are more likely to take risks.

"We are committed to stopping those who pose a risk on our roads, and I am pleased that Hussain will now face the consequences for his actions."

Meanwhile, a man in court to watch Hussain's sentencing was fined £500 for contempt of court after admitting taking a photo of the defendant during proceedings.

The judge told him it was illegal to take a photo in a courtroom, and warned him he faced a five-day prison term if he failed to pay the penalty within 28 days.

This was a "very sensitive case", he said, adding he hoped the intention of the photograph had not been to post it on social media to "shame" anyone.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North