Learner driver who fled fatal crash scene jailed

A speeding learner driver who fled the scene of a fatal crash he caused has been jailed.

Valerie Ayres, 65, was killed instantly when Khizer Ali, 24, collided head-on with her Vauxhall Meriva, in the crash in Worcestershire that also left her husband David, 70, with life-changing injuries.

Ali, who only had a provisional licence, "recklessly" drove a Volkswagen Golf at 59mph in a 40mph zone, before he lost control and struck the couple's car on the wrong side of Alvechurch Highway on 23 April last year, West Mercia Police said.

The defendant, of Farndon Close, Redditch, was sentenced at the town's crown court to 11 years and three months for causing death by dangerous driving.

Footage later showed the Golf being driven at 62mph in a 30mph zone, as well as being involved in a near-miss with a car coming in the opposite direction under a railway bridge.

Ali sped around a nearby roundabout twice and ignored the designated lanes before he exited on to the Alvechurch Highway at "full throttle", police said.

It was then that he "finally lost control of the car and crossed on to the wrong side of the road" and collided with the Ayres' car, the force added.

The force of the impact pushed the Meriva into another car behind it, before Ali left the scene. He was later arrested at his home by officers.

In tribute to Mrs Ayres, her husband said: "Val was the life and soul of the party, we did everything together.

"My life has been turned upside down, I can't express how much I miss Val and wish the whole thing never happened."

Her daughter Lucy added: "Mum was the glue in our family and kept us going.

"The times we spent together are now some of the most cherished memories I have.

"I cannot put into words what this man has taken away."

Ali was sentenced on Friday after admitting causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving and causing death by driving a vehicle without a licence or insurance, at an earlier hearing in February.

He was also banned from driving for 12 years and six months.

Det Con Rose Hughes said: "He should never have been behind the wheel of this car as he did not hold a full driving licence.

"Ali should never be driving again. Offenders like him have no place on our roads."

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