Staffordshire University student, 21, killed in horror crash
A speeding drunk-driver high on nitrous oxide who killed a student when he slammed into the back of his car at 91mph has been jailed for 15 years. Saqlane Zaffar caused other traffic to swerve out of the way while driving as fast as he could before he ploughed into Ryan Sandhu's Ford Fiesta on a closed lane of Birmingham's Aston Expressway shortly after midnight on June 2, 2024.
The 21-year-old victim suffered a catastrophic head injury and died at the scene. Advertisement
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Zaffar, who miraculously walked away from the high speed collision unscathed, was picked up by a friend, Muhammad Hamza, who had earlier been driving in convoy with him.
Zaffar 28, from Birmingham, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was banned from driving for 10 years at Birmingham Crown Court.
Hamza, 29, from Birmingham, was convicted of perverting the course of justice and dangerous driving following a trial and was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Sentencing, Judge Peter Cooke, told Zaffar he had "run the length of the A38 at the highest speed that he could while Hamza had circled round a roundabout waiting for him. Advertisement Advertisement
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He added: "That was what you agreed would happen. You were not racing against your friend but against the clock putting the Audi through its paces."
He said, the victim "was a young man whose bright future had been snuffed out because of the way you had conducted yourself that night".
Referring to a workman, who had dived out of the way, he said "If he had not heard the popping sounds of the cones and realised what was bearing down on him he would have been unlikely to have survived the collision.
This is about as bad as it can get without a second victim."
And he told Hamza "I find as the trial judge you knew that Zaffar was planning to drive like a maniac along the A38m" Advertisement Advertisement
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The court heard that Ryan, who had just finished the third year of a degree at Staffordshire University and was due to attend the funeral of his uncle the following day, was in queuing traffic on the A38(M) due to roadworks.
Before the crash, Zafar and Hamza, who had both been driving high performance cars they had recently rented, had stopped at a Shell petrol station where Zafar was captured on CCTV filling ballons with nitrous oxide from cannisters "like on a production line."
Zafar driving an Audi SQ7, then went on to the A38, driving out of city, accelerating all the time, to speeds of over 80mph as he undertook other vehicles.
Prosecutor Daniel Oscroft said "He could have easily killed anyone in his path, specifically workers on foot in the road as well as oncoming vehicles." Advertisement
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Moments before the crash a road worker laying out cones and signs was forced to dive out of the way as Zafar demolished a number of cones.
He said the collision caused the Ford Fiesta to shunt into a Mercedes but the lives of Zaffar and a front seat passenger were spared because of the front airbags that deployed.
Afterwards they gathered up a number of items, including nitrous oxide canisters, and tossed them over the side of the Aston Expressway.
As Ryan lay dying Hamza cruised up in a blue Nissan Qashqai in closed lanes past the queuing traffic and Zaffar got into the vehicle. They were later pursued by a number of police vehicles travelling on the wrong side of the road at speeds of about 80mph until Hamza crashed and everyone ran out of the vehicle.
Zaffar and Hamza were arrested shortly afterwards and Zaffar was "so intoxicated he couldn't stand, when police tried to take samples of his blood and breath he refused." Advertisement
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Sergeant Rich Evans, from West Midlands Police, said afterwards: "This was a truly horrific collision that claimed the life of a young man, Ryan Sandhu, and devastated his family.
Ryan had everything ahead of him, and no family should ever have to endure the grief and pain that his loved ones now face. The driver responsible, Saqlane Zafar, showed complete disregard for the safety of others. He was travelling at 91 mph when he struck Ryan's vehicle, and then fled the scene without even checking on him.
His actions demonstrated a shocking lack of care and responsibility."
Ryan's heartbroken family paid tribute to him following the collision, saying: "In loving memory of Ryan Sandhu, 21 years old and our family's brightest light. His infectious humour and playful spirit made him the heart and soul of our family. As the baby of our family, Ryan was loved beyond words by each and every one of us.
Beloved son, brother, uncle, grandson, and friend, our lives have been forever shattered by his loss.
He will be missed more than words can express."
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References
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