Teen driver guilty of 11 year old's death near mosque

A speeding teen who knocked down and killed an 11-year-old boy as he left a mosque with his father has been found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. Henry Barker, then 19, hit schoolboy Shahzaib Hussain while driving a Mercedes A-Class at speeds of more than 40mph along the 20mph narrow back street in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester. After hitting the youngster outside the Hamza Mosque, Barker, now aged 20, fled the scene before handing himself into police the following day. At Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Barker, of Failsworth, Greater Manchester, was found guilty by jurors. During the four-day trial, the court was told how Shahzaib had been attending afternoon prayers with his father Javid Hussain and his uncle when he was involved in the collision on Moss Street West on February 29. As Shahzaib crossed the 20mph residential road, he was hit by the front nearside of the vehicle before being thrown into the air. Prosecutor Michael Morley said one witness had described how shortly before the collision he had witnessed Barker swerving'' to avoid parked cars. Barker was to tell police the boy hadrun out of nowhere'' and he had panicked after the collision, the jury heard. Mr Morley told jurors it was not disputed that the youngster had stepped into the road. In an interview and a prepared statement, Barker claimed that in his mind he had not been speeding at the time of the collision and that, in his view, he had been unable to avoid the collision. Barker will be sentenced on August 25.

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