Dentist who killed pedestrian in Leeds while driving at 'grossly excessive speed' jailed after 'unacceptable' delay
A dentist has been jailed for crashing into and killing a young man while driving at over twice the speed limit in Leeds.
Muzzafar Ahmed Mir aged 33, of Grove Road in Shipley, was jailed for six years today (Thursday) for driving at a “grossly excessive speed” and causing the death of Joshua Wilson from Leeds, on Bradford Road in Stanningley on April 11, 2022.
Mir had been driving his heavily modified black BMW at around 90mph on the 40mph road at 2.30pm when he struck Mr Wilson, which caused “catastrophic injuries” that he died from at the scene.
The 26-year-old had been crossing the busy dual carriageway, which is in a heavily built up residential area, to visit his step-grandfather in Thornbury after getting off a bus.
A victim impact statement was read out from his mother, who said: “Josh’s death has affected me so deeply. It feels like I’ve lost part of my heart. The grief has not left me.”
Mr Wilson’s sister also provided a statement, in which she said she was “shocked, deeply stunned and numbed by his death”.
During his sentencing hearing at Leeds Crown Court today it was heard that the BMW car that Mir was driving had been heavily customised so that it had 30 per cent more torque, which increases the acceleration.
A resident had previously visited the dental practice where Mir worked and contacted the police to complain about his reckless driving.
Other witnesses also gave evidence about Mir’s driving in the build up to the crash, with one saying: “I could hear its exhaust. It was really loud because it was going so quickly.”
For the prosecution, Paul Mitchell said that a friend of Mir’s was driving behind him at the time of the crash and that the defendant began driving recklessly to “show off”.
He played CCTV footage of the crash to the court, which showed Mr Wilson leaving the bus on Bradford Road before crossing the westbound carriageway safely and reaching the central reservation.
Mr Mitchell said: “He then enters the eastbound carriageway. As soon as he stepped in to the third lane he saw the defendant’s car travelling at speed. He momentarily put his hands up but suffered catastrophic injuries and died at the scene.”
Gasps could be heard from the public gallery as the footage was shown to the courtroom.
Mir stopped at the scene and attended to Mr Wilson following the crash. When police arrived he was arrested and interviewed under caution. In a subsequent police interview he provided a prepared statement in which he said: “I was not driving dangerously.”
Subsequent studies carried out found that Mir had been driving at between 89mph and 91mph at the time of the impact and that he had been driving at an average speed of 90mph for 800 metres prior to the crash.
A charge of causing death by dangerous driving was not brought against Mir until over three years after the incident, which was a major source of complaint from his defence counsel Richard Wright.
Mir pleaded guilty at a pre-trial preparation hearing on July 15 this year.
The delay was blamed on issues within the police and Crime Prosecution Service (CPS), with Mr Wright saying: “Had they not caused that delay Mr Mir could have been sentenced in 2022 comfortably.
“It’s in this case inexplicable and unconscionable and the people who have been punished are the families who have had to wait three-and-a-half years for this day, wondering what would happen.”
He added: “All Mr Mir could do after driving as badly as he did was indicate a guilty plea as early as he could and that’s what he did.
“There’s no argument about the facts. They speak entirely for themselves. This was grossly excessive speed.”
The court also heard that Mir is of previous good character and has no previous convictions. He has also become a father in the time since the crash and expressed “genuine remorse” for his actions.
Passing his sentence, Judge Richard Mansell KC said that it was “perfectly clear” that Mir was “showing off” to his friend at the time of the crash and rejected suggestions that the speeding was momentary.
He said: “A 29-year-old man who was at the time qualified as a dentist does not momentarily and foolishly put his foot to the accelerator in the middle of the day. To suggest this was a one-off misjudgement flies in the face of common sense.
“I do acknowledge that you have a clear driving record. But this is in part more a matter of luck than judgement.
“The decision to show off that day and show deliberate disregard for other road users ended the life of a 26-year-old man in the prime of his life.”
Judge Mansell KC added that it was “completely unacceptable” that it had taken so long for the charge to be brought against Mir, saying: “Delays of this kind have become depressingly commonplace and come about by the intolerable workload of police and the CPS.”
He sentenced Mir to six years in prison, of which he will serve half before being released on license. He was also disqualified from driving for seven years.
Detective Sergeant Paul Lightowler of the Major Collision and Enquiry Team, who led the investigation into the collision, said: “Joshua’s death was a tragedy for his family and friends, and we welcome Mir’s sentencing at court for the dreadful driving which caused it.
“He was believed to have been driving at speeds of at least 86mph in a 40mph zone when he struck Joshua, inflicting unsurvivable injuries on him.
“It is welcome that he pleaded to his offence, sparing Mr Wilson’s family the ordeal of a trial, but they must now live a lifetime without him.
“This case sadly stands as another example of the awful and sometimes fatal consequences of dangerous driving on our roads.
“West Yorkshire Police remains committed with our partners to achieving the West Yorkshire Vision Zero road safety aim to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured (KSI) on our roads by 50% by 2030, and to zero by 2040.”