A34 Cheshire crash: Three men jailed over road race crash death
December 18, 2023 at 9:50 AM
Three men have been jailed after they admitted taking part in a street race which resulted in the death of a man. Asad Rashid, 34, was hit in the crash between two cars and two motorcyclists on the A34 Handforth bypass in Cheshire on 15 September 2020, police said. He died at the scene.
Mohammad Zubair Chaudhry, 31, was sentenced to 10 years seven months. Osama Saeed, 32, and Asgar Taj, 35, received 12 years for causing death by dangerous driving. They had previously admitted the charges but were jailed in their absence after failing to appear at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
Arrests warrants have been issued for all three men, Cheshire Police said. During the hearing the court was told how the trio all travelled to Cheshire to take part in a race. The victim, from Bradford, was also part of the group.
'Trophy videos'
Chaudry was driving an Audi R8 and Saeed was in an Audi R3, while Taj and Rashid were riding Suzuki motorbikes.
The group travelled to Cheshire from Manchester along the A34, as they passed under the A555 bridge all four drivers lined up at the traffic lights ready to race, police said. Video footage obtained from a truck driver showed the group used the traffic lights as a starting flag, racing off as soon as the lights changed. The level of acceleration put the vehicles out of sight within seconds before they all collided with a roundabout at about 22:10 BST.
Chaudhry's Audi R8 hit first, tearing off the underside of the engine flying through the roundabout to end up 135m (148 yards) further down the A34. The two motorbikes and the Audi RS3 then hit the roundabout at about the same time. Taj and Rashid both became unseated from their bikes as they hit the roundabout, police said.
Taj sustained a number of serious injuries including a fracture to his right arm and fractures to his left foot. Rashid was struck by the RS3 as it hit the central reservation becoming trapped by the vehicle and died at the scene. Members of the public stopped to assist the injured men and as one of them approached Taj as he lay on the roundabout, they noticed he was clearly deleting files from Instagram, before then deleting the app itself in an attempt to destroy evidence.
Police said "shocking" mobile phone footage that was seized showed "trophy videos" where Chaudhury was driving at "unbelievable speeds" in a built-up area. They also showed him driving at 192mph on a motorway. During the sentencing, Judge Jason Macadam said that the men had deliberately absconded and that they "had done everything they could to avoid the consequences of their actions".
He also said that "none of the men had accepted their guilt" and that they were all equally culpable.
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