The family of a man who was killed by a dangerous driver said they have been living in a nightmare they can never wake up from.
Luqman Mehboob was the passenger in a Volkswagen Golf GTI that crashed into a roundabout on East Prescot Road on October 10, 2021. He died at the scene.
At around 4.45am on October 10, Nasrin Saleh was driving the car at 103mph after inhaling large quantities of nitrous oxide along East Prescot Road. She then crashed the car into the roundabout with Pilch Lane, flipping it onto its side before it caught fire.
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On Monday (June 5), Saleh, 26, was jailed for four and a half years, having pleaded guilty to causing his death by dangerous driving.
Prosecuting, Arthur Gibson read a statement from Mr Mehboob's mum to Liverpool Crown Court. She said: "The crushing realisation that nobody will call me mum again is damaging my mental health".
About the day of the crash, she said: "Our nightmare began. The nightmare we never woke up from".
She described her son as "the life and soul of all of our family events". He had a "caring and supporting nature" and was a "pillar of the community", according to her statement.
The statement continued: "Every day we are searching for normality" and added: "I break down completely, pleading for him to come back".
Saleh, of Colville Street in Wavertree, had been on a night out in Manchester on October 9, 2021. She was with two friends who decided to return to Liverpool at around 1.45am on October 10.
However, Saleh remained in Manchester to spend time with friend Shujata Begum. Mr Begum, who was with his sister, had agreed to meet Saleh.
Shortly after 2am, Mr Begum and Saleh left the venue to go to a corner shop. As they left the store, a Volkswagen Golf GTI pulled up. It was driven by Mr Mehboob, 28.
The car belonged to Mr Mehboob's cousin, but he had borrowed it. The prosecution asserted that the meeting was not by chance and there had been some communication between Saleh and Mr Mehboob before his arrival.
Saleh and Mr Begum got into the car and Mr Mehboob drove them around Manchester city centre as they listened to music.
Mr Begum had said: "There was no cause for concern from me in relation to his driving. He didn’t appear to have been speeding or being under the influence of alcohol. He presented as sober".
They then got onto the motorway to return to Liverpool. It was at this point that Mr Begum realised that Mr Mehboob and Saleh were both using nitrous oxide canisters.
He later told police that Saleh "was having loads of these, approximately two to three boxes which each contained 15 canisters". Mr Begum was dropped off on Upper Stanhope Street at around 4.15am to return to his own car.
Mr Begum saw the Volkswagen drive off with Mr Mehboob still behind the wheel. The car then drove away from the city centre - it was seen on CCTV from a Shell Garage on Liverpool Road, heading outbound.
At this point, the car was not seen to have been driven erratically or at excessive speed. However, at some point Saleh swapped into the driver's seat and the car turned around to head towards Liverpool city centre. It is not known when or where the swap took place as Saleh answered "no comment" in a police interview.
Shortly before 4.45am, a witness was driving along East Prescot Road at the 40mph speed limit. He saw the Volkswagen overtake him at high speed, which he estimated to be above 80mph.
He saw the car continue at high speed along the road as it approached the roundabout connecting East Prescot Road Pilch Lane. The car crashed into the roundabout, taking its front end into the air before it rolled onto its side and then roof. Around ten seconds later, it burst into flames.
A nearby dog walker said he heard the car driving quickly before what he described as "an almighty noise of a collision". A number of loud bangs followed, which he thought were gunshots. In fact, they were the remaining nitrous oxide canisters exploding in the fire.
Further police investigations found CCTV footage from a home on East Prescot Road, 470m from the roundabout. The Volkwagen was caught on camera at 103mph.
Footage taken from the nearby Aldi's CCTV camera showed the car braking around 80m from the roundabout, but the 103mph speed would have required a 252m stopping distance.
Taxi Driver Russell Cooper arrived at the scene as the fire began. He took the fire extinguisher from his car and ran towards the Volkswagen.
He was able to drag Saleh from the wreckage but the fire intensified. While Mr Cooper was carrying Saleh away to safety, she said: "we swapped, we were doing balloons, me baby, me friend, is he still in there".
The taxi driver returned to the fire and tried to reach Mr Mehboob but he was unresponsive. Mr Cooper was forced to step back due to the strength of the fire and smoke.
Merseyside Police, fire and ambulance crews arrived at the scene but nothing could be done to save Mr Mehboob. Saleh suffered injuries – a fracture to her lower left leg and ankle - and was taken by ambulance to hospital.
Mr Mehboob's body was recovered after the fire was extinguished. A post-mortem examination found that he suffered catastrophic head and internal injuries which meant he lost consciousness immediately, ultimately resulting in his death.
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