Huntingdon Street crash live: Man who caused death of Nottingham student is sentenced

A driver who caused the death of a Nottingham Trent University[1] student during a car chase with police in the city centre is due to be sentenced. Joshua Gregory pleaded guilty to causing the death of Oshada Jayasudera when the Ford Focus ST he was behind the wheel of struck his victim on the A60 Huntingdon Street in the early hours of Wednesday, December 13, last year.

At the time, the 28-year-old, of Kirkby-in-Ashfield[2] was being pursued by Nottinghamshire police officers and the force has since referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in relation to the chase.

Mr Jayasudera died at the scene after being hit by a car being driven by Gregory, of Westfield Road, shortly after 3am on the morning of the incident. The 31-year-old victim was from Sri Lanka and studied Project Management at Nottingham Trent University[3] . He was treated by paramedics but was pronounced dead at the scene.

Shortly after his death, Sri Lankan publication Sunday Island Online reported that Mr Jayasudera had been living in Nottingham for just three months. In the report, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, Rohitha Bogollagama, was said to be working with authorities and Mr Jayasudera’s parents to ensure his body was repatriated as soon as possible.

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Mr Jayasudera was a highly qualified and experienced project manager. Two days before his death, he shared that he had completed a course on LinkedIn. Underneath a Sri Lankan politician wrote: “Very sad to hear what happened soon after. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”

Oshada Jayasundera
Oshada Jayasundera

Follow our live coverage of the sentencing hearing below:

References

  1. ^ Nottingham Trent University (www.nottinghampost.com)
  2. ^ Kirkby-in-Ashfield (www.nottinghampost.com)
  3. ^ Nottingham Trent University (www.nottinghampost.com)
  4. ^ Get the latest news straight to your phone by joining us on WhatsApp (www.nottinghampost.com)