A husband and wife were mown down and killed by a convicted drug dealer fleeing from police in a high speed chase. Stephen and Geraldine Birtles had been out for a meal before they were hit by 24-year-old Abdisalan Ali, who was driving at twice the speed limit in a BMW.
Ali was being tracked by police on the M60, reaching speeds of 90mph, before officers began a near two mile chase through the streets which ended in Didsbury. Mr and Mrs Birtles, aged 71 and 64, were hit by Ali as he sped through the junction of Kingsway and Wilmslow Road at about 60mph.
Mrs Birtles died at the scene, while her husband passed away 12 days later having never regained consciousness, Manchester Crown Court heard. Ali didn't stop at the scene and the BMW was found abandoned.
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He was arrested after police discovered a drinks bottle in the car containing his DNA. Now Ali, from Whalley Range, has been jailed for eight years and eight months.
A judge admitted the sentence 'may appear less than it ought to be' given the seriousness of the crime. But Judge Alan Conrad QC said he was 'bound' by the 14 year maximum sentence in force at the time of the fatal collision, which happened just after midnight on Sunday, February 20.
The maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving has since been increased to life.
Ali, who was previously locked up for more than three years for dealing heroin, was told: "You killed a much loved couple, still in the prime of their lives, by thoroughly dangerous driving when you were fleeing from the police.
"Having mown them down you then callously fled the scene and left them to die. It can only be the case there was someone or something in the car you didn't want the police to find."
Ali claimed others in the car had been 'encouraging' him to drive fast. But his passengers have never been identified.
Mr and Mrs Birtles' only child, Nicola Helley, gave an emotional statement in court before Ali was jailed. Directly addressing Ali, as she held back tears, Ms Helley told him: "To us you are simply not worth a second of our energy.
"You may have destroyed my parents' lives, I will not let you destroy mine."
She described her parents as being her 'world'. "We all had so much to look forward to," she said.
"They were both in the prime of their lives. This was all taken away from us in a second in the most horrific manner.
"They loved nothing more than a few drinks and a bite to eat on a Saturday night. Due to your callous and inexplicable actions they never returned home."
She recalled being woken at 4am by police officers to be informed of the devastating news. "This was the beginning of the nightmare, the nightmare that for us will never end," she said.
"Because of what you did that night we have been robbed of two of the most incredible people. I feel so cheated that I never got to say goodbye to them both.
"The idea I could easily describe the full impact of this revolting crime is impossible. Every morning I wake up, my heart shatters into a million pieces."
Ms Helley said her mother was 'warm', 'bubbly' and had the 'biggest heart of gold'. She said her father was a 'gentle giant' and a talented guitarist.
"The world will be a darker and quieter place without them both in it," she added.
Ali did not have insurance to drive the BMW, and was also awaiting sentence after being caught driving while uninsured about six months earlier. He first came to the attention of an unmarked police car on the M60 after driving at high speed.
Police 'tracked' the vehicle on the M60, reaching speeds of more than 90mph to keep pace, but did not active their blue lights until he left the motorway. Ali went through red lights and at 'grossly excessive' speeds, reaching up to 67mph in a 30mph zone.
Mr and Mrs Birtles were crossing the road when Ali arrived the junction. He went through on a green light and hit them, throwing the couple into the air.
Both suffered horrendous injuries, with Mrs Birtles being pronounced dead at 12.50am, prosecutor Rob Hall said. Her husband died on March 4.
The BMW was recovered by police at about 4am around a mile away from the scene of the collision. Ali had taken a taxi home.
He was arrested on April 12 following a police investigation. Defending, Ruth Zentler-Munro said Ali is due to be receiving counselling after suffering from depression since the incident.
"He has found it very very difficult to know that he is responsible for the dreadful consequences that were spoken so eloquently by Mrs Helley," the barrister said. She said that after being released from jail following his sentence for drug dealing, Ali found work in a takeaway and had applied to university.
But the judge said Ali hadn't learned his lesson since being freed. He pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and was given full credit, reducing his sentence from a possible 13 years if he'd been convicted after trial.
Ali, of Gerry Wheale Square, Whalley Range, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, and two counts of causing death while uninsured. He is expected to serve two-thirds of his sentence before being released.
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