Two Indian-origin men have been jailed for a total of 28 years after their high-speed driving led to the deaths of a 27-year-old mother and her four-year-old daughter in Leeds, northern England, in January 2023.
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driving → jail → January
Hardeep Bhachu, 29, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Jasskamal Riyat, 37, received a 16-year term at Leeds Crown court on Monday.
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Riyat → sentence → Monday
Bhachu pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of Justyna Hulboj and her daughter, Lena Czepczor, by dangerous driving.
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Bhachu → plead → driving
Riyat was convicted of the same offences after a trial in August.
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Riyat → convict → August
Both men were also handed six-year driving bans and will have to take an extended driving test before they can drive again.
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they → hand → test
A powerful car is not an invitation to test its limits on a public road," Judge Ray Singh said while sentencing the men.
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Singh → test → men
"The consequences of competitive driving at extreme speed can be, and in this case were, irreversible," he added.
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he → add → case
The collision took place on January 16, 2023, when Bhachu lost control of his Audi and struck Justyna and Lena as they walked to school in Leeds.
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they → take → Leeds
The car then crashed into the wall of the Vertu Jaguar Leeds dealership on Scott Hall Road.
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car → crash → Road
Both mother and daughter died at the scene.
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mother → die → scene
According to the BBC, prosecutors told Riyat's trial that he had been driving at 89mph on a road with a 40mph speed limit shortly before the collision.
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he → accord → collision
He was driving a BMW 1 Series and was allegedly racing Bhachu's Audi TT RS.
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He → drive → RS
The BBC reported that Riyat was also holding his phone and recording Bhachu as he accelerated away from traffic lights, saying: "Watch this guy let it off."
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guy → report → it
The two men did not know each other but had earlier lowered their windows to speak at traffic lights.
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men → know → lights
Riyat denied racing Bhachu.
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Riyat → deny → Bhachu
According to the BBC, he initially told police he had been "doing a steady 40" and later suggested he might have exceeded the speed limit because he was travelling to a work meeting.
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he → accord → meeting
After watching footage in court, he revised his estimate to 50mph.
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he → watch → mph
The BBC also reported that Riyat was forced to stop because of the wreckage after the collision.
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Riyat → report → collision
He took photographs before driving around the scene and continuing to work.
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He → take → scene
The jury took less than two hours to convict him on two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
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jury → take → driving
West Yorkshire Police identified Riyat as the driver of a black BMW 135i using dashcam and CCTV footage supplied by members of the public.
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Police → identify → public
Bhachu's own dashcam captured a conversation between the two men at traffic lights, during which Bhachu boasted that his Audi had 560 horsepower and that he had only been using quarter throttle.
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he → capture → throttle
“Bhachu and Riyat didn’t know each other.
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Bhachu → know → other
They were two men showing off their fast cars on a busy dual carriageway," Detective Inspector Paul Conroy, of West Yorkshire Police’s Major Collision Enquiry Team, said.
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Conroy → show → Team
“Ultimately, Bhachu thought he could drive at those speeds in his high-powered car, but he couldn’t, and his loss of control took two lives and ruined many more.
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loss → think → many
“Riyat witnessed this collision but instead of stopping to check if those involved were okay, he left the scene.
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he → witness → scene
He denied his involvement but was convicted thanks to the extensive footage showing his speeding vehicle in the moments leading up to the collision,” he added.
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he → deny → collision
“A woman and her young daughter have died because of the actions of these men, and I know no sentence will ever feel enough to compensate for the lives that have been lost," Conroy said.
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Conroy → die → lives
“This sentencing hearing though does mark the end of a long criminal justice process for Justyna and Lena’s family.
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hearing → mark → family
“It is over two years since Bhachu admitted his part in this tragic incident and I know that the wait for justice has taken its toll.
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wait → admit → toll
My thoughts are firmly with them today,” he said.
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he → say → them
In a statement, Justyna's fiancé and Lena's father said his “whole world collapsed in one second” after the crash.
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world → say → crash
“Every day I feel a huge void after their departure, and I imagine what it would be like if they were still alive.
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they → feel → what
We had so many plans and dreams and in one moment it all ended...
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it → have → moment
This nightmare will last for the rest of my life," he said.
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he → last → life
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