The key facts

  • Humaira Batool has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and a 10-year driving ban over the death of 20-year-old Shaan Hussain in December 2022 on the M62
  • Before the crash she was travelling at up to 140 mph (230 km/h) on a wet road in darkness; the car overturned and caught fire
  • In September the jury rejected claims of a mechanical fault, aquaplaning and passenger interference; earlier the judge issued an arrest warrant after she failed to appear for sentencing

Sentence in the case of the fatal crash on the M62

Leeds Crown Court has sentenced 26-year-old Humaira Batool from Bradford to 10 years' imprisonment for causing death by dangerous driving, BBC News reported. She has also been disqualified from driving for 10 years and will have to pass an extended driving test in the future. The charge related to a crash in December 2022 on the M62 near Ripponden in West Yorkshire: Batool lost control of a rented Lamborghini Urus worth around £200,000, the car left the road, overturned and caught fire.

Circumstances of the crash

According to the court, 20-year-old Shaan Hussain, also from Bradford, had rented the car, and he and Batool were driving to HMP Leeds prison to pick up a friend. Along the way they swapped seats, and the car left the carriageway eight seconds after Batool took the wheel. The jury heard that shortly before the crash she was travelling at speeds of up to 140 mph (230 km/h) in wet conditions. Hussain died from his injuries; Batool herself suffered serious injuries, including burns to about 10% of her body and a comminuted fracture of the tibia.

Defence claims rejected

In court, Batool tried to blame the deceased, claiming that he 'reached over' while she was driving and touched something, causing the car to lurch forward, but the jury rejected this. In September she was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. Judge Ray Singh noted that the defence had also put forward other explanations — a possible mechanical fault, aquaplaning and interference with the controls by Hussain — and that he, like the jury, rejected them: the sole cause of the crash was the manner of driving. According to the judge, this was not a momentary lapse of attention but a deliberate decision to drive at extreme speed on a wet motorway in darkness, exposing the passenger, the driver herself and other road users to an obvious risk of death.

Failure to appear in court and family statements

As the BBC previously reported, Batool was due to appear for sentencing on Monday but did not show up: her lawyer explained this by a flare-up of endometriosis and a visit to an accident and emergency department. Prosecutor Christopher Dunn called this 'an obvious ploy', and the judge issued a warrant for her arrest. When passing sentence, the judge called Hussain's death 'tragic and entirely preventable', noting that death did not come instantly but after the impact, when he could not get out of the car. The victim's mother, Nasreen Akhtar, said in a statement read out in court that 'every day has been a struggle' and that it was especially hard for the family to mourn their son while listening to attempts to blacken his name. Detective Inspector Paul Conroy stressed that driving such a car in the way she did that evening put everyone nearby on the motorway at risk.

A woman in a white collared shirt walks outside court, her ponytail blown sideways by the wind, with a brick building and metal railing behind them.Image source, Ben Lack Photography
Image caption,

Humaira Batool was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving

A young man seated inside a vehicle. He has short, dark hair with the sides cut shorter than the top and is in the center of the frame looking towards the camera. He has light facial hair on his chin.Image source, Family handout via West Yorkshire Police
Image caption,

Shaan Hussain died in a crash on the M62 while he was a passenger in a rented Lamborghini Urus

A woman in a white collared shirt walks outside court, her ponytail blown sideways by the wind, with a brick building and metal railing behind them.A woman in a white collared shirt walks outside court, her ponytail blown sideways by the wind, with a brick building and metal railing behind them.