A banned driver killed a serving soldier as he tore through a red light at “motorway speed”.
Kasim Mohammed tried to escape – stopping only to pick up an iPad – after leaving Adam Hancox fatally injured.
The 27-year-old, of Smethwick, also abandoned a woman passenger from his own car before he was restrained by members of the public at the scene.
Adam’s family were at Wolverhampton Crown Court as Mohammed was jailed for 10 years. They paid tribute to him after the hearing, reports the Birmingham Mail.
They said: “No words can ever express our sadness and overwhelming grief since Adam was tragically and needlessly taken from us. Adam was an amazing, loving young man with so much to live for. His untimely death has left a massive hole in our lives that will never be filled. He will always be remembered and loved by so many. We would like to thank family, friends, community, the British Army and West Midlands Police for the on-going support they are giving us.”
Mohammed jumped a red light and smashed into Adam’s Ford Ka on a 40mph stretch of Wolverhampton Road, Oldbury, on November 23 last year. He was already banned from the roads and had no insurance.
The court heard he picked up the iPad from a passenger seat and ran from his own Volkswagen Passat, leaving a woman inside with a head injury and a fractured hip.
Adam, 26, and from Smethwick, was pronounced dead at the scene. He served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers at the Army Training Centre in Pirbright, Surrey, and received full military honours at his funeral.
Mohammed pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing. He was banned from the roads for seven years and will have to take an extended test before being allowed to drive again.
Collision investigator PC Julie Lyman, of West Midlands Police, said: “Although Mohammed tried to escape, quick-thinking members of the public caught up with him and held him until police officers arrived and he was quickly arrested. No sentence can ever bring back a loved one, but I hope it brings some closure to Adam’s family, who can now concentrate on coming to terms with their loss. Mohammed showed a complete disregard for anyone other than himself before and after the collision and he will now spend several years behind bars to contemplate his reckless behaviour.”
