Motorcyclist jailed for killing West Sussex man in crash in Southsea

The 22-year-old was travelling at 75mph in a 30 zone just beforehand

Author: Ryan BurrowsPublished 20th May 2023

A motorcyclist has been jailed after causing a crash that killed a pedestrian from Midhurst in Southsea.

76-year-old Kenneth Cullen was crossing Clarence Esplanade with his wife Lina Cullen when he was struck by Mohammed Aman Raja's bike at just after 2pm on November 8th, 2021.

Kenneth was pronounced dead at the scene, while 58-year-old Lina was uninjured.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard Raja was riding at speeds of up to 75mph in a 30 zone prior to the impact, despite having a pillion passenger on the back of the motorcycle with him.

22-year-old Raja, of Moira Close in Haringey, London, was handed a four year sentence at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday (May 19th) and disqualified from driving for a further two years.

Mohammed Aman Raja will spend four years behind bars for causing the fatal collision

PC Kelly Hargreaves, of Hampshire Police's Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit, said:

"Had Raja not been riding at such dangerous high speeds he may have seen Mr Cullen and been able to avoid this devastating collision.

"Raja treated the streets of Southsea like a race track and it was this utter disregard for the lives of others that caused this tragic loss of life.

"Speeding is one of the fatal four reasons for serious injury and fatal road traffic collisions and we are committed to stopping each and every person ignoring speed limits.

"I hope this sentence today makes other people think carefully about the risks to themselves and others caused by speeding."

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