Jailed: Boy racer killed his friend and seriously injured couple in Walsall crash
A boy racer has been jailed after driving a car which crashed, killing his friend and seriously injuring a couple in Walsall.
Manveer Gill, 21, overtook a car near a double bend and drove his modified Seat Leon at speeds of up to 70mph in a 30mph limit along Pelsall Lane, in Rushall, on March 26 last year before losing control and colliding with a parked Chevrolet.
Seat passenger Arjun Singh, 19, died at the scene.
Emma and David Bradshaw, who were parked in their Chevrolet Trax with their nine-year-old daughter, were taken to hospital with serious injuries following the crash which happened at about 9pm.
Prosecuting barrister Mr Daniel Oscroft said the Seat had been adapted into "a boy racer's car" and had been enhanced with Devilsown injection gel to give it racing car type qualities.
Mr Oscroft said witnesses described the Seat tailgating other cars and cutting in and out of traffic moments before the tragedy.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that Mrs Bradshaw suffered a fractured jaw and a brain bleed while her husband suffered four broken ribs, and spine and chest injuries, from which they were still recovering.
Sentencing Gill, Judge Michael Chambers QC said: "It is not a case of simply driving at excessive speed. It is driving aggressively intending to intimidate, which you clearly did to other road users.
"It was clearly not a short period and clearly can be argued to be prolonged and clearly sustained. In my judgement this is case which straddles level one and level two and is closer to level one creating a substantial risk of danger.
"The other aggravating factor is causing serious injury to one or more victims, namely Mr and Mrs Bradshaw. It is right and proper that it also reflects those factors. This is a tragic case although you have strong mitigating factors in your favour."
Judge Chambers said those factors included Gill's age and his remorse.
Mitigating for Gill, barrister Preet-Paul Tutt said that as a result of the case the defendant had lost his "dream" apprenticeship with Mercedes. He said Gill's brother had passed down the modified Seat to him.
"The defendant knows and realises that the real victim was Arjun who was his good friend, Arjun's family and those who were injured," Mr Tutt said.
Mr Oscroft also read aloud victim impact statements to the court, including from Arjun's mother, Mandy Kaur, who said she had been "overcome by sadness".
He also told the court that Mr Bradshaw, a self-employed floor layer, was left relying on his teenage children to care for him after coming out of hospital and the family was in financial difficulty as he cannot now work full-time.
Gill, who was also injured, previously pleaded guilty to an offence of causing death by dangerous driving.
For the offence Gill, of Chalcot Grove, Handsworth Wood, in Birmingham, was jailed for for three years and nine months. He must serve half the term before being released on licence. He was also given an extended road ban for four years and 10 months.
Detective Constable Katie Lees, of West Midlands Police, described Gill's driving as a "tragedy waiting to happen".
She added: “Lots of people have been impacted by this collision and been left to try and find a way ahead with their lives.
"Speeding on our roads carries with it inherent dangers and I'd hope that a case like this at least makes people think twice about how they behave behind the wheel."
