An eight-year-old schoolboy was knocked down and killed by a BMW driver racing another car.
Witnesses described how they saw two cars travelling very fast down Ryecroft Street in Ashton-under-Lyne just before the crash on Thursday, July 2020. One witness described how he thought the drivers, Kevin Jones, from Bebington and Thomas McGrath from Stockport, were treating the road as a “race-track”.
Another had shouted for the vehicles to “slow down” as they flew around the bend, after he felt they were travelling too fast – and too close to each other. The same witness reported a load bang before he saw a small child lying “motionless in the road.”
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The schoolboy had been crossing the road while playing with his brother and cousin when he was struck by Jones' BMW. Jones, stopped after the accident, but McGrath left the scene.
Initially in hospital with life-threatening injuries, eight-year-old Safiullah Latif Asif from Ashton-under-Lyne, later died. Officers on the scene discovered Jones was driving without insurance and had an expired provisional driving licence.
He pleaded guilty to death by dangerous driving on May 27, 2021. McGrath was traced but denied the offence. He pleaded not guilty on December 13, 2021 but was later found guilty at the end of a trial on January 19, 2023.
A Forensic Collision Reconstruction Report was carried out, that showed Jones was travelling at approximately 50mph in a 20mph zone, and McGrath at an average speed of between 42 and 48mph.
Kevin Jones of Gorseyville Crescent, Bebington, was jailed for four years eight months and Thomas McGrath of Gorton Road, Stockport was jailed for the same amount of time. They were both told they will be disqualified from driving for five years upon their release from prison.
PC Adam Scott of the Specialist Operations Roads Policing Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “First of all, our thoughts remain with the family of Safiullah Latif Asif, who grieve and miss their son every single day. We are pleased with today’s result, and we hope that this goes some way to help Safiullah’s family, knowing that both Jones and McGrath are off the streets and cannot hurt anyone else.
“This was an extremely serious road traffic collision, and we would urge everyone to adhere to speed limits and behave in a responsible way on the roads. As this case has shown, standards of driving like this result in the loss of lives and in this case, a young boy’s life. These standards will not be tolerated by Greater Manchester Police and we will vigorously target these offenders.”
Speaking after the sentencing, at Bolton Crown Court on Thursday, February 23, Saffiullah’s father said: “Myself, my wife and our whole family are very grateful to the police and the Prosecution Service, who have worked hard to get this case to court, and for all the support we have received from our Family Liaison Officer.
“I want to thank the witnesses who came forward and the community for being a great support. I am content with the sentencing today. We have lost Saffiullah and he will never come back but I am pleased that we have finally got some justice.
“Please can we ask that our privacy is respected so we can grieve for the loss of our son.”
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