A Mercedes driver killed a dad-of-four by knocking him off his quad bike as he tried to overtake him. Mohammed Billal Khan had attempted the manoeuvre on a blind hill and as an oncoming car appeared, he swerved back to the left to avoid a crash, but instead collided with the front wheel of his friend, Tariq Khan's bike.
Tariq who ran the Pound 4 Pound boxing gym in Bolton, was thrown from the quad bike and into a lamp post, suffering 'catastrophic' head injuries. The 36-year-old died at the scene.
Just three days earlier, Billal Khan had filmed himself driving the car at 100mph on a 30mph road and uploaded the video to TikTok, Bolton Crown Court heard. He has now been jailed for five-and-a-half years after admitting to both incidents.
Prosecution barrister Brian Berlyne told the court that Tariq had gone out on his quad bike at around 7pm on May 6 2020, along with his friend Abid Sarwar. After riding from Farnworth, Tariq saw his friend Billal Khan at the junction of Manchester Road and Green Lane.
Tariq told Billal Khan that they should pull up further up Green Lane at a park and have a chat, the court heard. While on Green Lane, on the 'blind brow of a hill' Billal Khan went into the wrong side of the road as he tried to pass Tariq and Mr Sarwar's quad bikes.
A car being driven by a man named Hekmat Ahmed appeared from the other side of the brow and Mr Ahmed believed that Billal Khan was going to crash head-on into him. Mr Ahmed described Billal Khan's driving as "so dangerous that it seemed suicidal".
To avoid a crash with Mr Ahmed's car, Billal Khan swerved to the left but clipped the front wheel of Tariq's quad bike in the process. Tariq, who was not wearing a helmet, lost control of the bike and clipped a kerb, before being thrown from it.
Billal Khan parked up and stayed at the scene after the collision where hem was arrested by police. Officers also seized his phone and found videos from three days earlier of the 27-year-old driving at more than triple the speed limit on St Helens Road and Lever Street.
During his police interview, Billal Khan, of Manchester Road, Bolton, admitted to 'unintentionally' clipping Tariq's quad bike as he overtook him. He said that he believed he had been driving at around 40mph at the time, which was accepted by collisions investigators. Billal Khan pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and causing death by dangerous driving.
Several moving victim impact statement, from members of Tariq's family, were read out in court. His father Mohammed described him as "honest and hard-working".
"We as a family have never recovered from this tragedy and always miss Tariq. It has been two years and still have not recovered from this loss. His family is broken and his kids are lost without their dad," the statement read.
"The driver of the car who took Tariq away from us needs to learn a lesson that his actions have taken a father away from four boys and a son away from us."
Tariq's sister Nazia described May 6 2020 as "the worst day of our lives" and the day "our Earth shattered into a million pieces".
His niece Aishah said: "I would give my own life it means I could speak with him once more and say my last goodbye. Anyone who didn't know him was very unfortunate and missed out on knowing someone with a beautiful soul and a heart of gold."
Tariq's wife Sanchia described their last day together before that as "perfect" and said that they had gone to the park with the children during the day to ride their bikes. "On the park, I'll always remember the last words Tariq said to me, he said 'take a picture of me and the kid for memories'. This has always stayed with me.
"We spent about 40 minutes there before walking back home. I can still remember walking back like it was yesterday. I had a feeling of content, everyone was in a happy mood."
Sanchia said that she had been cooking their "favourite" tea of meat and potato pie when her neighbour knocked on her door to share the devastating news that 'turned my life upside down'. She added: "I got a knock at the door from my neighbour Candice. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"She told me that Tariq had been in a bad accident and I replied 'oh, he'll be okay though'. I was almost trying to comfort her but she replied with absolute dread on her face and said 'no, he's been in a bad accident'. She knew what had happened but couldn't tell me.
"My neighbour Janice said 'I don't know if this is true but I read on Facebook that Tariq has passed away'. I threw myself back and shouted 'no, it's not true, it can't be, it's just Facebook.
"I went to check on my husband but their was a policeman there blocking the entrance to the road. I still thought he was going to be okay but after what seemed to be a lifetime, the policeman came up to me and confirmed what happened.
"I went numb, it didn't feel real, we were just together on the park. All of a sudden it hit me that he's not coming back and that's when I burst into tears.
"That's when I had the worst job as a parent of telling my boys that their amazing dad, who did everything for them, was never ever coming back. We sat together and cried and screamed until their was nothing left."
Defence barrister Balbir Singh said: "This case is a tragic case. Everything said in this court from the family is well known to Billal Khan because they were good friends and their families knew each other.
"What can be said is what happened that day on Green Lane was not intended, it was not foreseen by Billal Khan, although I readily accept that he should have realised there was a danger in overtaking on that spot. No sentence that this court imposes could in fact match the grief and the punishment that he has imposed upon himself in thinking about these matters over the past two years.
"He will always regret his decision on Green Lane that day when just a few moments earlier, at the traffic junction, he met Tariq. Tariq spoke to him and asked to meet up a bit further down the lane at a park so they could chat.
"He made that fateful decision to overtake those quad bikes. He accepts it was a dangerous manoeuvre. He thought he had got past Tariq’s quad bike but of course a vehicle came over the hill and he clipped the front wheel."
The Honorary Recorder of Bolton Judge Martin Walsh jailed Billal Khan for five-and-a-half years. He also banned him from driving for eight years and nine months.
He said: "I accept that you now express genuine remorse for the irreparable harm that you have done and I accept of course that you did not intend the catastrophic outcome. You will of course live with the fact that you were responsible for taking the life of a friend. Of course for the family of Tariq Khan the emotional pain that they will suffer will be deep and enduring.
"You were travelling in excess of the speed limit in a residential area and made a conscious decision to overtake two quad bikes as they were approaching a zebra crossing and, beyond that, the blind brow of a hill. You assumed an obvious risk and your driving was such as to cause a substantial risk of danger to other road users.
"You had been travelling in excess of the speed limit minutes before the collision occurred. Having regard to the manner of your driving just three days earlier, it might be said that you had on this occasion also displayed a flagrant disregard for the rules of the road but you will receive a separate and consecutive sentence in respect of [that]."
Judge Walsh continued: "At the time when you began to overtake the two quad bikes you had no way of knowing whether any vehicles were approaching the bridge from the opposite direction. Nevertheless you made a decision to execute the manoeuvre and is so doing assumed the obvious risk that it entailed.
"The consequence of your decision was catastrophic. Tariq Khan was a much loved family man with four children.
"He was 36 years of age. The devastating impact of your action upon his family is movingly articulated in the victim impact statements which have been read to the court."
"Nothing that this Court can do can put right the harm that has been done and the sentence that must follow is not intended to and could never reflect the value of the life which has been tragically lost.
"Those who must continue to live with the loss of a loved one, and perhaps some members of the public, may feel that in cases such as this, the sentence that the court is able to impose inadequately reflects the loss caused. I make it clear however that in determining the appropriate sentence I am required to have regard not only to the limitations on sentencing in cases of this sort imposed by Parliament but also to the Sentencing Guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council."
