Bradford man Jamie Taylor caused death of Iram Shahzada by dangerous driving

Jamie Taylor tested positive for cocaine after he ploughed into Iram Shahzada, known as Ruby, on the afternoon of May 10 last year.

He banged into a parked vehicle and was speeding off when he hit 39-year-old Mrs Shahzada on the pavement throwing her six feet in the air, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Taylor, 42, of Hendford Drive, Pollard Park, Bradford, wept in the booth at HMP Leeds as heart-breaking victim personal statements were read out by members of her family.

He also sat with his face buried in his arms when graphic footage of the fatal impact was played in court.

He pleaded guilty to causing the death of Mrs Shahzada by dangerous driving at the junction of Beech Terrace and Hinchliffe Street in Bradford Moor at 2.45pm.

Taylor was jailed for seven and a half years, plus 18 months to run consecutively for an unrelated offence of unlawful wounding, making nine years in all.

Prosecutor Chloe Fairley said Mrs Shahzada, who lived on Hinchcliffe Street, was just minutes from her home on her way to pick up her five-year-old daughter from Lapage Primary School on Barkerend Road.

The scene and floral tributes

She was on the pavement when she was hit by Taylor who was at the wheel of a silver Citroen C1.

A Parcelforce driver described seeing the car ‘swinging about’ and going ‘extremely fast’ downhill before the tragic impact.

Taylor staggered away from the vehicle making ‘no attempt whatsoever to check on the lady lying on the ground,’ Miss Fairley said.

Mrs Shahzada was unconscious with head injuries. An ambulance and the air ambulance attended at the scene but the paramedics were unable to save her.

A teenage boy said he saw a speeding car with the engine roaring hit her.

People came to help and used CPR until the emergency services arrived.

Mrs Shahzada was pronounced dead at the scene, the court was told.

A man handed the police a phone he said belonged to the driver of the Citroen.

Taylor was found by the police at 4pm at his partner’s home. When he was cautioned for the offence, he replied: ‘Are you joking?’ After he was arrested and taken into custody, he denied being the driver and said he hadn’t been there for weeks.

He claimed ‘local youths’ had been driving the car in that area.

Taylor then admitted he was driving but claimed it was an accident when the gearstick came out. Then he said his foot got stuck under the brake pedal.

An expert who examined the scene said the car had not slowed before the impact. No defect was found to the Citroen when it was inspected.

Mrs Shahzada’s sister-in-law, Aisha Saeed, fought back tears as she bravely stood up in court to read out her harrowing victim personal statement.

She said Mrs Shahzada, called Ruby by her family and friends, was walking to collect her youngest child, a girl aged five, from the school when she was taken from them in ‘a cruel and tragic manner.’ When she heard the terrible news that Ruby had died, ‘gravity was pulling me to the ground,’ she said. “It was the most heart-breaking feeling. I wish I could have said goodbye.”

She continued: “The grief never gets any easier. All I can do is to think about her and the children. I am not the same and I will never be the same.”

Miss Saeed said she often cried herself to sleep and had sought the help of a bereavement support group.

“I feel like my world has gone,” she said. “It’s not just one life that was taken away. Five children lost their mother that day.”

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Richard Mansell QC, told Miss Saeed: “I know this is horrendous for you.”

Further statements from family members spoke of Ruby’s aspirations and dreams for her children.

Her brother said his whole world had come crashing down.

Ruby was ‘quiet, humble and caring,’ he stated.

“My sister has gone and my children don’t have their aunt anymore. Every single family member is shaken to the core.”

The court heard that Taylor had a previous conviction for dangerous driving and numerous other driving offences on his record. He was driving while disqualified and uninsured when he killed Mrs Shahzada.

He had also pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and assault by beating at a gathering at a flat in Bradford in December, 2019.

Ian Hudson said in mitigation that Taylor hung his head in shame, remorse and guilt over Mrs Shahzada’s death.

He accepted that he left the scene in sheer panic after the fatal collision. He was deeply remorseful and ready to face his punishment for the offences.

Judge Mansell said it was ‘a disgraceful incidence of violence’ in December, 2019. Taylor struck a man on the head with a crowbar and a female on the head with a lump of wood. He was jailed for 18 months for those offences.

Judge Mansell said Mrs Shahzada was walking on the pavement to collect her young daughter from school when she was killed.

Taylor had aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving offences on his record and had never held a driving test.

He told the police he went to the area ‘to score drugs.’ He did a three-point-turn and banged into a parked car with some force.

He then drove down Beech Terrace towards Hinchcliffe Street as fast as he could to get away. He was barely in control of the car as it went down the steep slope roaring the engine, Judge Mansell said.

Taylor drove straight on to the pavement, ploughed into Mrs Shahzada and threw her into the air. He then left the scene making no effort to check on her.

She had suffered a serious head injury and passed away at the scene.

Taylor left his phone behind in his haste to get away. He had a long-standing Class A drug addiction and he gave a positive test for cocaine afterwards.

He then lied to the police in a desperate effort to avoid responsibility.

He was jailed for seven and a half years for causing death by dangerous driving. The sentences run consecutively, making a total of nine years.

Taylor was banned from driving for nine and a half years.