Men sentenced after Bradford man killed in street race

Osama Saeed and Asgar Taj, both from Bradford, and Mohammad Zubair Chaudhry, of Cheshire, were all due to appear at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court for sentencing yesterday after previously pleading guilty to causing the death of 34-year-old Asad Rashid by dangerous driving near Wilmslow, Cheshire.

However, none of the men appeared in court so they were all sentenced in their absence.

Saeed, 32, of St Paul's Road, Bradford, was sentenced to 12 years' jail, Taj, 35, of Heather Grove, Bradford, was also sentenced to 12 years behind bars, and Chaudhry, 31 of Kingsway, Cheadle, was given 10 years and seven months in prison.

Mohammad Zubair Chaudhry (Image: Cheshire Constabulary)

Arrest warrants have been issued for all three men.

What was heard in court and what have police said?

The court was told how the trio travelled to Cheshire on September 15, 2020, to take part in a race and Asad was also part of the group.

Chaudry was driving an Audi R8 and Saeed was in an Audi R3, while Taj and Asad were riding Suzuki motorbikes.

A Cheshire Constabulary spokesperson said: "The group travelled to Cheshire from Manchester along the A34. 

"As they passed under the A555 bridge, all four drivers lined up at the traffic lights ready to race.

"Video footage obtained from a truck driver showed the group used the traffic lights as a starting flag, racing off as soon as the lights changed.

"The level of acceleration put the vehicles out of sight within seconds and showed the intent of all four drivers to win the race.

"As the group approached the Total Fitness roundabout at around 10.10pm, they were all unable to deal with the clearly marked oncoming roundabout, all likely focused on beating each other in the race, and all proceeding to collide with the middle of the roundabout.

"All four vehicles narrowly missed colliding with innocent members of the public as they traversed the roundabout. 

"It was just by chance that nobody else was injured."

According to the force spokesperson, Asad was struck by the Audi RS3 and died at the scene as a result of his injuries.

They added: "Members of the public stopped at the scene to assist the injured men and as one of them approached Taj as he lay on the roundabout, they noticed he was clearly deleting files from Instagram, before then deleting the app itself in an attempt to destroy evidence."

As part of their enquiries, officers examined the four men's mobile phones following the collision.

The force spokesperson said: "It was found that Chaudhury had an astonishing array of 'Trophy videos' on his phone showing him and others known to him driving at unbelievable speeds on roads across the country.

"One video showed him driving at 139mph in a 40mph zone on the A34 Kingsway Grange, near to his home address, a built-up area with a school and lots of residential houses."

'Families torn apart'

After sentencing, Sergeant Andrew Dennison, of Cheshire Constabulary, said: "Driving is a privilege, not a right, and it comes with great responsibility to act within the rules laid down when you pass your test.

"The sad death of Asad that night shows the catastrophic consequences that will happen when these rules are ignored.

"Taj, Chaudhury and Saeed all came to Cheshire with Rashid knowing they were coming to race on the roads around Cheshire.

"They drove in a manner that put everyone around them at great risk and the inevitable conclusion of this driving was a serious collision that claimed the life of Asad.

"The knowledge of the group coming to race and the actions they undertook meant that they were all culpable in the death of Asad and as a result are all guilty of causing his death by driving dangerously.

"As a result of the selfish and dangerous actions taken that night four families have been torn apart.

"Asad is now dead, while Chaudhry, Saeed and Taj have all been handed significant prison sentences.

"None of the men have shown any remorse for their actions, and that fact that they failed to attend the hearing demonstrates a total lack of accountability."