A speeding BMW driver who killed a Deliveroo rider in a hit-and-run crash after jumping a red traffic light has been jailed for almost 10 years.
Abdiraham Ahmed, 20, was travelling at speeds of up 60mph in a 20mph zone when he crashed into 44-year-old Ronaldo De Oliveira’s moped in Streatham.
Mr De Oliveira was airlifted to hospital after the collision on May 11 this year, but died from his injuries.
Ahmed, who was also uninsured on the BMW, fled the scene of the crash but was caught two weeks later thanks to his DNA on the airbag and fingerprints inside the car.
At the Old Bailey on Thursday the driver was handed a sentence of nine years and nine months, as Judge David Aubrey KC branded him “cowardly” for running away after the fatal crash.
“It is impossible to imagine the suffering and pain of Mr De Oliviera’s family”, said the judge.
“The lives of his family members were shattered and their lives will never be the same again.”
Prosecutor Benjamin Holt said the crash happened in Valley Road at the junction with Leigham Court Road, when Mr De Oliveira was riding his moped on delivery rounds.
“The traffic light at the junction of Valley Road and Leigham Court Road was in the favour of Mr de Oliveira, and was showing red for the defendant”, he said.
“Mr Ahmed drove through the red light and collided with Mr de Oliviera’s moped. The defendant, who had been driving the BMW, fled from the scene along with two other males.”
In a victim impact statement, Mr De Oliviera’s wife Katia Passarinho said: “Ronaldo’s death caused a significant hole in our hearts and changed our lives forever. During the nights I am still waiting for him to return home.
“Getting back to work has been very difficult. I am scared of being on the road as I don’t feel safe anymore.”
His daughter, Gabriele De Oliviera, said she has given up her job as a delivery driver in the aftermath of the crash, and added: “I felt as though my heart had been ripped out.
“He was my everything, my number one. He always made sure that I was taken care of, and that I was raised to be a strong, independent woman.
“I can’t believe I will never hear him call my name again.”
Graeme Molloy, representing Ahmed, said he is “deeply sorry” for the crash and “readily accepts that he panicked on that day”.
The court heard he was given a suspended prison sentence in March last year for an incident of dangerous driving, driving without a license and failing to surrender to custody.
Ahmed, of Camberwell, admitted causing death by dangerous driving, causing death while driving without a license and causing death while driving uninsured.
He will be banned from driving for the next seven years.
