Man jailed following non-stop collision which left mum and baby seriously injured

A man has been jailed for causing serious injury by dangerous driving after a road traffic collision involving a teenager and a baby in Cobridge in August 2017.

Bellal Ahmad, 29, of Emerson Street, Stoke-on-Trent, was convicted at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Tuesday (18 August) after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing. He was sentenced to two years and two months imprisonment. He was also disqualified from driving for two years with an extended disqualification of one year and one month and is required to take an extended driving test when eligible.

At 8.25pm on 15 August 2017, after shopping at a supermarket, the 17-year-old woman was crossing Waterloo Road carrying her 12-month-old daughter. She was pregnant with her second child. She saw a car driving towards her at speed and was just a few steps away from the kerb when the Volkswagen Jetta struck her and her daughter. Both were seriously injured and were taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital. The Jetta and an Audi A7 left the scene of the collision – the Jetta within four seconds of the collision occurring.

Ahmad was driving an Audi A7, which was racing with a Volkswagen Jetta through Cobridge. A forensic reconstruction by the Collision Investigation Unit showed that both cars approached the junction of Waterloo Road and Greyhound Way at an average speed of 76mph (the speed limit of Waterloo Road is 30mph) and drove through the traffic lights at the junction of Greyhound Way while they were on red. It also showed that as the cars passed a local supermarket the Jetta was travelling at 68mph and the Audi at 53mph. The Jetta slowed to 54mph as it approached the junction of Hawthorne Street but despite braking heavily the car was in collision with the 17-year-old girl and her 12-month-old daughter.

The 17-year-old girl had a broken pelvis, ankle and eye socket and a chin laceration. The 12-month-old girl had lacerations to her liver and head and bruising to her chest.  

Ahmed was arrested two days later after the Audi was located.

Aqeeb Rasab, 26, of Wulstan Road, Cobridge, was jailed for 12 months in June 2020 after pleading guilty to perverting the course of public justice at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. Several weeks after the collision Rasab called the police and claimed he was driving the Audi A7 which was actually driven by Bellal Ahmad. An investigation showed that he wanted payment for the cover up from Ahmed.

Detective Constable Marc Heath, of CID North, said: “Ahmad was racing the other person in a Volkswagen Jetta and the speeds were in excess of 70mph in a 30mph area. He went through a red light and weaved across the road. Thankfully, the 17-year-old woman and her daughter did not lose their life. She went to give birth to a healthy baby.

“I would like to thank the members of the public who assisted the victims at the scene, those that came forward to provide witness statements, those that provided CCTV footage and the CCTV operatives at Stoke-on-Trent City Council for their superb work during this case.”