Driver convicted over death crash is jailed for flouting roads ban

Sharaf Ebrahimi was caught driving twice within the space of four days in June this year months after he was given a suspended prison sentence and driving ban for causing death by careless driving in a smash which killed his colleague Colin Stevenson.

Ebrahimi pulled out in front of Mr Stevenson's Vauxhall Vectra at a road junction in Bloxwich in October 2012. The impact forced Mr Stevenson's car into a head-on collision with a lorry being driven in the opposite direction.

Mr Stevenson, a 27-year-old father-of-three, had not been wearing a seatbelt. At the time, Ebrahimi worked with Mr Stevenson at APC parcels in Norton Canes, near Cannock.

In January this year, Ebrahimi was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence and a seven-year driving ban for causing death by careless driving, although the ban was reduced to four years on appeal.

But Mr Kevin Jones, prosecuting, said on June 9 this year he was caught driving at 9.15 in the morning.

He was arrested and granted police bail, but three days later he was caught driving again, this time in a van.

Mr Lee Masters, defending, said he was driving to work at the time of the first offence, and on the second occasion he was moving the van for his employer.

"He admits he had made a mistake in not telling his employer he was not allowed to drive," said Mr Masters.

Mr Masters added that his client had been in custody since he was stopped for the second offence on June 12, and he had never been in prison before.

The 38-year-old of Darlaston Road, Pleck, Walsall, had pleaded guilty to two charges of driving while disqualified, two charges of driving without insurance, and a further charge of breaching a suspended prison sentence at an earlier hearing.

Passing sentence at Wolverhampton Crown Court , Recorder Mr Julian Taylor said he was concerned that Ebrahimi did not appreciate the seriousness of the offence.

He sentenced him to four months in prison for each of the three charges, and Mr Taylor said they should all run consecutively. He said Ebrahimi would serve half the sentence, before he was eligible for parole.

He was also issued with two 12-month driving bans, which would both run concurrently with his existing ban.