Man sentenced over hit-and-runs that killed two

A man has been sentenced after two men were killed and a third was seriously injured in a series of hit-and-runs on the same day.

Emiljano Kasaj, 34, of no fixed address, was given a life sentence with a minimum of nine years and four months over the crashes in Coventry on 3 September 2023.

Pedestrian Leo Moran, 44, and cyclist Joel Carriedo, 47, were killed in the rampage. A third man, Andy Agyemang, was seriously injured.

In court on Monday, a psychiatrist said evidence suggested Kasaj was "acutely psychotic" and "suffering paranoid delusions" at the time of the offence.

Kasaj, who the court heard was an Albanian migrant already on bail for alleged immigration offences, was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on Monday.

"None of the evidence about your mental state detracts from the seriousness of what you did," Judge Akhlaq Choudhury said.

"You committed horrendous crimes on that day against innocent victims."

Kasaj was given a hybrid sentence - a hospital order alongside the prison term - meaning he will be detained in a health facility and only transferred to prison if deemed well enough.

He is currently being held in a secure mental health facility, West Midlands Police said.

Mr Moran was hit on Gosford Street while Mr Carriedo was hit on Woodway Lane, police said.

In a statement read out at court on Monday, Mr Moran's mother Teresa said she felt "enraged, exhausted and lost" after her son's death.

Mr Carriedo's wife Marilyn said in a statement she felt heartbroken every day after losing her "wonderful, caring and supportive" husband.

She added that their children's lives had been shattered and she suffered from flashbacks.

Kasaj received the life sentence for two counts of manslaughter, plus a 10-year sentence for one count of attempted murder to be served concurrently. He previously pled guilty to all three charges.

In court on Monday, prosecuting lawyer Peter Grieves-Smith said Kasaj had left Albania in 2022 and had been bailed to an address in Coventry after being arrested for immigration offences.

Mr Grieves-Smith added that Kasaj had been due to appear at an immigration centre in Solihull that December but failed to do so.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.

Kasaj's defence lawyer, Jeremy Dein KC, said the defendant felt remorse for the crashes and had no previous convictions, adding that his responsibility was at the lower end of the scale because he was prone to acute psychotic episodes.

He initially faced two murder charges but they were changed to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.