Dangerous driver who reached up to 108ph before crashing into tree, killing man, 19, is jailed

After pleading guilty, Muhammed Waqas was sentenced to eight years in jail at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday for causing death by dangerous driving, and causing death by driving a vehicle while uninsured, after the crash on Nechells Parkway, Birmingham in May last year.

Waqas was also disqualified from driving for nine years.

The 22-year-old, of Dolphin Road, Birmingham, was at the wheel of an Audi SQ5 when it collided into a tree on the central reservation of Nechells Parkway on the afternoon of Sunday 1 May. Waqas was driving at speed when he lost control and crashed into the tree, and his 19-year-old passenger sadly died at the scene.

Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, from the force's serious collision investigation unit, said: "Tragically, a young man lost his life as a result of Muhammed Waqas's dangerous actions on the road last year.

"Our forensic investigators were able to calculate that Waqas was driving at speeds between 102 and 108mph just prior to the bend. Nechells Parkway has a 40mph speed limit and at those speeds the vehicle was never going to negotiate the bend. Those types of speed are totally unacceptable on any of our roads.

“Excessive speed is one of the most common factors in the tragic incidents my team and I deal with, in particular with young drivers like Waqas.

"While he has deservedly been locked up for his actions, our thoughts remain with the family of the 19-year-old man, whose family have lost a son. This whole tragedy was totally avoidable and we need drivers to think about their decisions and realise that in a split second those decisions can result in the loss of a life.”