Driver cleared of causing death of two brothers in Wolverhampton crash
Pawanveer Singh, 23 months, and his 10-year-old brother Sanjay were killed in 2019.
Last updated 14th Sep 2023
A Bentley driver who was accused of taking part in a race which killed two young brothers in Wolverhampton has been cleared of causing their deaths by dangerous driving.
Hamza Shahid, 36, denied racing with an Audi which crashed into a BMW at traffic lights in 2019, killing Pawanveer Singh, aged 23 months, and his 10-year-old brother Sanjay.
The driver of the Audi, 27-year-old Mohammed Sullaiman Khan, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving before Shahid's trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Jurors who deliberated for more than nine hours also acquitted communications systems worker Shahid, from Birmingham, of causing serious injury to the children's mother, Arathi Nahar, by dangerous driving.
Jurors convicted one of Khan's brothers, 34-year-old Mohammed Asim Khan, of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice following the crash.
Another brother, lawyer Mohammed Adil Khan, aged 35, was found not guilty of the same charge.
A fifth man, Rashane Henry, 32, was also cleared of taking part in the conspiracy, which saw Mohammed Sullaiman Khan flee the crash scene and falsely claim his Audi A3 had been stolen by a burglar.
The three-week trial was shown CCTV footage of Mohammed Sullaiman Khan relaxing at a burger bar in Birmingham around an hour after the crash, having been picked up by a friend.
Further evidence presented to the jury included CCTV of the Audi travelling at around 92mph in a 40mph zone seconds before the fatal impact.
Judge Michael Chambers KC remanded Mohammed Asim Khan on bail for sentence alongside Mohammed Sullaiman Khan on a date to be fixed.
School tribute garden to brothers
A statement from Sanjay and Pawanveer's parents, said: “As a family we would firstly like to say a big thank you to West Midlands Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit for investigating Sanjay & Pawanveer’s case.
"Sanjay attended Cotwall End Primary School, Sedgley where they have made a sunshine garden. This garden has provided a safe secure place where our family and friends can visit. It’s there where we feel at peace after the sad loss of both of our sons.
"We as parents of Sanjay & Pawanveer miss them 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 the 14th March 2019. The day that our lives & 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.”