London, Sep 18 (IANS) Two men have been convicted by a UK court over a tragic road collision, which claimed the lives of two Indian-origin brothers, aged 23 months and 10 years, in 2019.
Sanjay Singh and his infant brother Pawanveer died on the spot on March 14, 2019 when the BMW driven by their mother was struck by a speeding Audi S3 on Birmingham New Road in Wolverhampton.
Mohammed Sullaiman Khan, 27, from Edgbaston admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, and one count of causing serious injury during a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court last week. .
Mohammed Asim Khan, 35, from Birmingham was found guilty of perverting the course of justice for lying to police in connection with the case.
Sullaiman also admitted perverting the course of justice. The two will be sentenced at a later date.
"It was the blue Audi that collided with the mother's car. We say that the drivers of both cars are responsible," prosecutor Robert Price, opening the case at Wolverhampton Crown Court last month, said.
Mother Arithi Nahar, who was behind the wheels, told the court that she had 'no chance' of avoiding the deadly collision as her car was 'propelled' onto the pavement and hurtled into metal railings.
Witnesses described spotting two men dangerously racing 'bumper to bumper' moments before the impact, with one describing the pair as driving 'erratically like lunatics', according to local media reports.
The court heard that Nahar was travelling back home with elder son Sanjay in the front passenger seat and younger son -- due to celebrate his second birthday just nine days before he died -- sitting at the back of the white BMW.
"It was an act of sheer madness," Nahar, who was seriously injured in the crash, had told the court.
The court heard that Sullaiman, the Audi driver, reached speeds of 90mph before he went through a red light and hit the BMW the boys were in with their mother.
According to the police, the brothers were in their pyjamas as they were heading home after collecting their dinner from a fish restaurant where their father worked.
“Both boys suffered catastrophic injuries and were sadly pronounced dead at the scene. Their mother Arithi Nahar suffered serious injuries,” the police said in a statement.
"Our duty was to Sanjay and Pawanveer and to their family, who have been so brave throughout,” said Detective Constable (DC) Karl Davies from the West Midlands Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit, who led the enquiries.
"It is awful, almost beyond words, for two young brothers to be killed in such a dreadful collision," Davies said.
In a statement released via the West Midlands police, the parents said that they miss their children terribly. "We will never see them grow up into teenagers and then later as adults. We have been robbed of that. Our boys were taken away in a blink of an eye on 14 March 2019. The day that our lives and our home died too".
"With the support of our family, friends, loved ones, colleagues and professionals like Victim Support and Edwards Trust we have developed a new way of living again with this constant pain and bleed in our hearts,” the parents said.
Sullaiman Khan is said to have fled the scene 'quickly' after the collision. He was later found in a burger bar on CCTV, looking uncomfortable from the impact of the collision.
To pervert the course of justice, jurors heard how a 'false report' was made to police, suggesting a burglar who had stolen the Audi was to blame for the crash.
