Two men jailed over death of 'sweet' boy, 8, killed while crossing the road
Two men have been jailed after a 'cute and sweet' eight-year-old boy was tragically knocked down and killed while crossing the road.
Safiullah Asif was sent 'flying in the air' after being struck by a BMW in Tameside, Greater Manchester on July 23, 2020.
He was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, but died the following evening.
Safiullah had been playing with his brother and cousin at the time of the collision.
On Thursday, Kevin Jones, 36, from the Wirral, was jailed for four years and eight months, while Thomas McGrath, 24, of Stockport was jailed for the same amount of time for causing death by dangerous driving.
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Bolton Crown Court heard how witnesses described seeing two cars travelling very fast down Ryecroft Street moments before the collision, with one thinking they had been treating the road as a "race track".
Eight-year-old Safiullah Asif died after being hit by a BMW while playing with his brother and cousin (MEN Media)Another bystander had shouted for the vehicles to “slow down” as they watched them speed around the bend, as he felt they were travelling too fast and too close to each other.
The same witness reported a loud bang before he saw a small child lying "motionless in the road".
Both defendants appeared visibly uncomfortable and had to look away as harrowing video footage played in court showed the moment of impact.
Jones, who was driving the BMW, stopped after the accident. McGrath, who was in in a blue Volkswagen Polo, did not.
Both men worked for financial and insolvency services firm Debt Clear at the time, and CCTV footage showed them lined up at the edge of a road a short distance from their workplace minutes before the collision.
Neil Fryman, prosecuting, described it as the start of a "race", and they were seen shooting off down the road shortly afterward.
Jones, who was driving the BMW, stopped after the accident (GMP)He said: "Mr Jones could not have driven at the speed he did when he killed Safiullah without Mr McGrath doing the same speed just in front.
"Had McGrath been driving sensibly, then Mr Jones could not have reached the speed that he did behind McGrath."
Officers attending the scene discovered that Jones was driving without insurance on an expired provisional driving license.
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McGrath was later traced by police after failing to stop but denied the offence (GMP)He admitted to the offenses at the scene and later pleaded guilty in May 2021.
McGrath was traced but denied the offence. He pleaded not guilty in December 2021, but was later found guilty at the end of a trial last month.
Safiullah's father said he was grateful his son had 'finally got some justice' (MEN Media)A Forensic Collision Reconstruction Report showed that Jones was travelling at about 50mph in a 20mph zone, and McGrath at an average speed of between 42 and 48mph.
One neighbour speaking shortly after the incident described Safiullah as a "very nice boy" who was "calm but cute and sweet".
A moving tribute read out to the court from Safiullah’s father said: "There is nothing in the world worse than losing a child.
"We always heard this, but we have felt it and we would not wish it upon anyone. We don’t have the words to describe our pain. We wake up each day hoping that it’s just a bad dream."
Responding to the verdict, PC Adam Scott of the Specialist Operations Roads Policing Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: "First of all, our thoughts remain with the family of Saffiullah Latif Asif, who grieve and miss their son every single day.
"We are pleased with today’s result, and we hope that this goes some way to help Saffiullah’s family, knowing that both Jones and McGrath are off the streets and cannot hurt anyone else.
"This was an extremely serious road traffic collision, and we would urge everyone to adhere to speed limits and behave in a responsible way on the roads. As this case has shown, standards of driving like this result in the loss of lives and in this case, a young boy’s life."
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