Driver who killed student when he smashed into bus shelter at 101mph after race jailed for eight years

Sukvinder Mannan, 33, swerved into a bus lane and ploughed his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution into 21-year-old childhood best friends Rebecca McManus and Harriet Barnsley as they waited for a bus to take them to a hen night.

BMW M3 driver Inderjit Singh, 31, who had pulled out of the race seconds before the impact, was jailed for one year at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Student Miss McManus, from Oldbury, died at the scene on Hagley Road West on May 31 last year at around 7.50pm while Harriet Barnsley suffered "life changing" injuries.

Car garage manager Mannan, of Roundhills, Halesowen, remained impassive as judge Kristin Montgomery told him: "You drove with arrogant disregard and contempt for other road users and the indications, by your own admissions, is that you had been drinking alcohol.

"For around a mile you played cat and mouse driving at grossly excessive speeds and both of you were consumed by your competition.

"It was almost inevitable one of you would lose control and have a collision."

The court heard how after the crash Mannan, who has previous convictions for drink driving, had been "aggressive and vociferous" towards emergency services staff called to the scene.

He was arrested for being over the drink drive limit claiming had only had two beers and later refused to give a blood sample.

Mannan initially denied swerving into the bus lane and later claimed he had never even seen the BMW let alone raced it.

But he eventually pleaded guilty last February to two counts of causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving.

Turning to a tearful Singh, a computer engineer, of Cranbourne Avenue, Ettingshall, the judge said: "I sentence you for the way you drove up to the point that you withdrew from the race, a decision you took split seconds before Mannan crashed.

"You encouraged Mannan to speed and your efforts to prevail in the race were unrestrained by any thought."

Singh had been acquitted of two counts of causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving by a jury last week but had admitted dangerous driving.

The court heard how he'd weaved through traffic on the busy A4123 Birmingham New Road at up to 80mph as the two men raced in scenes reminiscent of the Hollywood blockbuster The Fast and the Furiou

Earlier the court heard from the two victim's families through impact statements read out in court by prosecutor Mr Hugh O'Brien-Quinn.

Miss McManus's mother Catherine said she now struggled to work or sleep and that another daughter Hannah had been forced to curtail her university studies.

She said: "Rebecca's death has left a huge void that can never be filled.

"We've been robbed of the chance to see her graduate and have a career in literature, settle down and have children.

"We have been instead condemned to a life time of pain and suffering.

"It is still incomprehensible that I will never be able to speak to or see my precious daughter again."

Rebecca's father Gerard McManus added: "We are very proud of what she achieved.

A family statement issued by officers today said: ""There are no words that can convey the utter devastation we feel at the loss of our beautiful Rebecca. She was so full of life and looking forward to graduating from University to continue her life's journey. Our lives are empty without her and we are sentenced to a lifetime of pain and grief."

The family said they were disappointed with the not guilty verdict on Singh, who was cleared of causing death by dangerous driving. He was convicted of dangerous driving after admitting taking part in the race.

The family said it sent an 'unacceptable message to those racing up and down the highways of the West Midlands'.

"He (Singh) played a part in the death of our beloved daughter as she would still be here if that race hadn't taken place.

"Neither is the motor industry without blame or shame. The constant marketing of performance cars in terms of speed and thrills with no acknowledgement to road safety or the Road Traffic Act is despicable. Performance cars have no place on the road."

Sgt Paul Hughes, from the force's Collision Investigation Unit, said: "The Evo was calculated to have been travelling at 101mph in a 40mph limit immediately before losing control and ploughing into the bus stop.

"These drivers were not young inexperienced drivers but professional working men who decided to race each other - for reasons we will never understand - along a busy suburban highway.

"Rebecca and her friend were on a night out and did the right thing, they planned their night and decided to catch a bus into town. They thought they would be safe.

"It was the senseless and reckless actions of two men that changed two families' lives forever."

"She lived life to the full and had many friends.

"Such a beautiful and gentle person to be taken in that way is unbearable and I have recurring images of that night.

"I can see and hear her all around me.

"We will grieve for Rebecca for the rest of our lives."

Harriet Barnsley's father Stephen said his daughter, who was on her way to a hen night with Rebecca, said had been in a coma for three months.

He added: "Her childhood best friend has died leaving mental and psychological scars.

"Physically she has endured over 50 hours of life-saving operations and reconstructive surgery but will not ever regain use of her left foot.

"Her life has changed forever."

Miss McManus, of Oldbury, had attended King Edward VI College in Stourbridge where she achieved four A Levels – two at A* and two at grade A - before enrolling with the University of East Anglia in Norwich for an English literature with creative writing degree course.

Jane Salmons, English literature tutor at King Edward VI College, said Miss McManus was an outstanding young woman.

"Not only was she gifted academically, she was also a talented poet and musician," she said, speaking soon after the tragedy.

"She contributed to many aspects of college life and her warmth and generosity made her extremely popular with staff and students. She will be greatly missed."

Jane Salmons, English literature tutor at King Edward VI College, said Miss McManus was an outstanding young woman.

"Not only was she gifted academically, she was also a talented poet and musician," she said.

"She contributed to many aspects of college life and her warmth and generosity made her extremely popular with staff and students. She will be greatly missed."

Staff at the University of East Anglia described her tragic death as an 'irreplaceable loss'.

At the time, Professor Peter Womack, head of the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing (LDC) at UEA, said: "Rebecca was about to complete a three-year course in English literature with creative writing.

"She was an exploring, adventurous poet, and an active and popular member of the creative writing group and the wider LDC community.

"Besides her own writing, she studied critical theory in the second year, and was one of a small group of students who decided to found an extra-curricular theory group to continue her reading and thinking once the module was over.

"One of its most faithful attenders, she was a benign, quietly intellectual presence, head bowed over the page, wearing her trade-mark red beret, a bit shy, but keen to discuss a wide range of matters, from high philosophy to Facebook, and always gentle and generous in her interactions with others.

"She was a truly lovely young woman, serious but humorous, thoughtful but quirky, committed to writing and thinking but able to have a giggle. Her death is an irreplaceable loss, and she will be much missed by those who studied with her and by those who taught her."