Four year sentence for driver who killed cyclist while driving at double the speed limit

The driver of a car that hit and killed a cyclist on the A13 in November 2014 has been jailed for four years after admitting causing death by dangerous driving.

Snaresbrook Crown Court heard that Parvez Rahman was driving at 71mph on the 30mph road, with police reporting at the time that his car was seen racing another before the collision.

The cyclist, Ashad Ahmed, was on his way to his parents' house when he was hit by Rahman and died two hours later in the Royal London Hospital of head and brain injuries.

Rahman drove off after the collision but handed himself in the following day. Mr Ahmed's brother Kawsar, told the Evening Standard that the legal system had let his family down after seeing Rahman smile in the dock after being sentenced.

“I think the system has let us down. The sentence he got didn’t compare to what he did. He’s a scumbag," he said.

“It just seems unfair in this day and age, the law is like this when there are so many accidents like this. My parents can’t comprehend how someone will just get four years for this. I’m glad my parents didn’t go to court to see his reactions. Words can’t describe them. He was smiling as he was being led out of court. The shocking thing is he showed no remorse. This guy is inhuman.”

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The court heard that Rahman was "driving as hard as that car could have been driven" at the time of the crash, and Judge Nicholas Huskinson said the accident could have been avoided if he had adhered to the speed limit.

“If the defendant had been driving within the speed limit, there would have been plenty of time for the defendant to decelerate and avoid any kind of impact with Mr Ashad Ahmed," he said.

“He was a man who was married with two young children and, on the behalf of his family, there is a victim impact statement before the court that speaks in high terms about what a grievous loss his death has been to the family.

“If someone drives at 71mph in a 30mph, effectively single carriageway, there is a substantial risk of danger and indeed of death.”