Two men who fled the country after being accused of killing a man during a deadly street race on the A34 are now both finally behind bars.
Osama Saeed and Asgar Taj went on the run last October, in the middle of a trial at Minshull Street Crown Court for causing the death of their friend Asad Rashid, 34, by driving dangerously near Wilmslow. The fugitives were arrested at the arrivals gate of Manchester Airport earlier this month after disembarking from a flight from Abu Dhabi.
After being jailed in absentia, Saeed, 32, of St Paul’s Road, Manningham, Bradford, appeared at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court today (Friday) where he was formally sentenced to 12 years in prison. Taj, 35, of Heather Grove, Bradford, appeared at the same court last Friday and received the same sentence.
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Both men were also banned from driving for eight years. A third defendant, Mohammad Zubair Chaudhry, 31, of Kingsway, Cheadle, who also pleaded guilty to the offence, was sentenced to 10 years and seven months in prison in absentia. He remains at large and efforts to trace him are ongoing.
“We will not give up”
The three men travelled to Cheshire on Tuesday 15 September 2020 to take part in the race. Mr Rashid was part of their group.
Chaudry was driving an Audi R8 and Saeed an Audi R3, while Taj and Rashid were riding Suzuki motorbikes. As they travelled from Manchester to Cheshire on the A34, the four drivers lined up at traffic lights ready to race, Cheshire Police said.
The four vehicles then crashed into a roundabout on the A34 Handforth bypass, near Wilmslow. Taj and Mr Rashid were thrown from their motorbikes. Mr Rashid was hit by the RS3 as it crashed onto the central reservation.
He died at the scene. Taj suffered several serious injuries, including a broken right arm and fractures to his left foot, from which he has since recovered.
Speaking after sentencing today, Inspector Steve Griffiths, of Cheshire Police’s Serious and Complex Collision Investigation Unit, said: “As this result demonstrates, we will not give up. If you commit a crime in Cheshire, you will be caught and held accountable. Saeed and Taj had both actively evaded justice, fleeing the county during their trial, before failing to return for their sentencing hearing.
“Thankfully, both men are now behind bars and face significant prison sentences that reflect the seriousness of the actions they committed that day when they parked in an illegal street race that resulted in the death of their friend.”
