A 30-year-old man accused of killing a two-year-old boy in a hit-and-run crash has been remanded in custody until January.
Sharjeel Shahzad is alleged to have been driving a Porsche Cayenne with false number plates when it collided head-on with a Toyota Auris carrying Shehbaz Singh and four adults in Dartmouth Road in Smethwick, near Birmingham, on Saturday.
Shehbaz died after he and the four adults were taken to hospital following the collision, which happened shortly before 11pm.
You (Shahzad) are charged with a number of offences. The most serious of these offences is an allegation of causing death by dangerous driving. That offence is so serious it can only be dealt with at the crown court
Shahzad, of Cooksey Lane, Great Barr, indicated not guilty pleas through his solicitor when he appeared before a district judge at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The defendant is charged with causing death by dangerous driving, two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving the Porsche while displaying false registration plates, driving whilst disqualified, driving with no insurance and failing to stop after a collision.
Police have said a woman aged 29 and a 30-year-old man who were in the same vehicle as the boy remain in a serious condition in hospital.
Adjourning the case against Shahzad and refusing a bail application, District Judge John Bristow told him: “You are charged with a number of offences. The most serious of these offences is an allegation of causing death by dangerous driving.
“That offence is so serious it can only be dealt with at the crown court. You will next appear at the crown court on January 15 next year.”
