Reckless driver jailed for killing Sikh woman in UK

London, Jan 12

A 23-year-old man in the UK has been jailed for six years for recklessly driving at a speed of nearly 100 mph, which led to the death of a Sikh woman -- mother to a five-month-old.

Hashim Aziz was driving at over three times the speed limit to "impress his cousins" when his Audi A3 crashed into Baljinder Kaur Moore's Vauxhall Corsa in West Midlands, in November last year, the Mirror reported.

Baljinder, 32, was on her way to pick up her husband from his brother's home, and she was driving at 62 mph.

The Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that two witnesses had spotted Aziz flying past them "in excess of 100mph" before they heard "loud bangs".

The severity of the impact caused one of the car engines "to become detached" while debris was left scattered 30 metres away, prosecutor Cathlyn Orchard said.

Baljinder was announced dead on the spot by paramedics.

According to the Mirror, Aziz, a resident of Highgate Drive, Walsall, initially tried to blame the victim for the tragedy during a police interview but later admitted causing death by dangerous driving.

"He accepts full responsibility for what was a catastrophic accident. He simply shouldn't have been travelling anywhere near that speed," Aziz's defence counsel, Adam Morgan, said.

During his sentencing at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday, Aziz expressed "full remorse" for the crash.

The court was told that Aziz had a clean criminal record and no driving convictions.

In addition to a six year jail-term, Aziz has been banned from driving for seven years.

--IANS