Taxi Driver jailed for ‘Racing’ against a Driver causing Death

Taxi driver Yasir Qadoos, aged 41, of Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire, was jailed for three-and-a-half years for causing the death of another driver.

He had been overtaken on a residential street and reached speeds of 69mph as he raced 31-year-old Mohammed Zaman, moments before the victim crashed and went through his windscreen.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp explained that Qadoos had finished work at 9:20 pm on June 13, 2018, and was on his way home when the 30-second incident happened.

Leeds Crown Court was shown video footage of his white Toyota Auris being overtaken by a blue Toyota Yaris on Overthorpe Road.

Qadoos “aggressively” beeped his horn and sped up to catch up with Mr Zaman when he turned onto Slaithwaite Road.

He drove on the wrong side of a bollard at the junction to a side road to overtake Mr Zaman. Qadoos reached speeds of 53mph before slowing down when there was traffic. He later sped up again.

Qadoos was heard angrily saying in Urdu that roughly translated to:

“There’s a b*****d doing something behind me. I will smash his car if he overtakes me, m**********r b*****d.

“I get crazy if someone overtakes me.”

Mr Zaman attempted to overtake Qadoos but the taxi driver drove at 69mph as the pair drove side by side.

Near a bend, Mr Zaman tried to overtake but clipped the front of the taxi driver’s car, lost control and hit a kerb. The victim’s car rolled over twice before coming to a halt.

Mr Zaman went through the windscreen and died at the scene.

Qadoos remained at the scene but claimed he had first seen the Yaris just before the crash in his police interview.

However, when the video footage was recovered, he made no comment.

The defendant’s taxi was found to have two serious defects, deeming it unroadworthy, but they did not contribute to the incident.

In a personal statement, Mr Zaman’s eldest sister Shazia Akhtar said:

“This is a loss which will never be relieved until we die – a tragedy which devastated the whole family and changed our lives.”

Qadoos, a married father-of-three, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He has no previous convictions.

In mitigation, Robert Kearney said that his client showed “normal, lawful driving” in between the two incidents. He added:

“It is clearly a case where this defendant did not want Mohammed Zaman to pass him on that road.

“Unfortunately they ran out of road, which caused the tragic collision.”

Judge Geoffrey Marson QC told Qadoos:

“The sentence I impose on you is not intended to reflect the value of a life.

“No sentence can ever do that. Life is precious beyond measure.”

Mr Sharp added:

“Yasir Qadoos had ample opportunity to disengage from the race by simply pulling over. But he did not.”

“Displaying reckless stupidity, he chose instead to continue driving aggressively and at high speed, not only causing danger to other road users but also being a cause of the death of Mohammed Zaman.

“As a result, a life has been cut tragically short and Qadoos is now beginning a three and a half year prison sentence.”

Yasir Qadoos was jailed for three-and-a-half years. The Telegraph and Argus reported that he was banned from driving for six years and nine months and will be required to take an extended test.