M3 crash – Hampshire taxi driver who caused fatal crash jailed

Mohamed Farooq Saleemi, of Cedar Road in Eastleigh[1], had sent a text 60 seconds before hitting and killing Vologea Mihaliuc just days before his 55th birthday, jurors had previously been told. Mihaliuc, who was helping a broken down car on the hard shoulder, died at the scene. The crash happened on February 21, 2022, at around 11.25pm on the M3 between junctions 13 and 14, when Saleemi veered off the carriageway.

Recommended reading: Det Con Joy Jarvis of the Roads Policing Unit said: "This was a senseless death caused by a distracted driver who was using his phone. "As a professional taxi driver, the defendant should have known better.

"To risk lives just to send a text is a completely selfish act and now a family has been completely torn apart by this man's actions." CCTV and dash cam footage revealed the 64-year-old had veered toward the recovery vehicle, which was displaying flashing amber lights. He failed to notice the vehicle ahead because he was using his phone.

His Mercedes Vito, which can seat eight passengers, went "into the back of the recovery truck where the deceased was standing, then turned on its side and slid down the road in a shower of sparks", prosecutor Thom Dyke said at the trial last year. Saleemi was 'crying and screaming in a foreign language' and didn't speak to bystanders before he was taken to hospital, the court heard. Mr Mihaliuc's friend felt "a rush of cold air before he'd realised that his friend had been hit".

Saleemi, who had just finished his shift as a taxi driver in Winchester at the time of the crash, was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court[2] on Thursday to seven years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving.

He was also sentenced for perverting the course of justice after attempting to hide his phone from police officers, having previously pleaded guilty to this charge.

References

1. ^ Eastleigh (www.dailyecho.co.uk)
2. ^ Crown Court (www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk)