Men who fled UK after killing friend in crash jailed

Two men who fled the UK after taking part in a high-speed street race which killed their friend have been jailed.

Asad Rashid, 34, of Bradford, died in the race between two cars and two motorbikes on the A34 Handforth bypass in Cheshire in September 2020.

Osama Saeed, 32, and Asgar Taj, 35, were caught at Manchester Airport earlier this month, after previously admitting causing death by dangerous driving before escaping.

Police are searching for a third man, Mohammad Zubair Chaudhry, 31, who also fled the country.

Saeed, of St Pauls Road, Bradford, and Taj, of Heather Grove, Bradford, were each sentenced to 12 years, along with an extra two months for breach of bail.

On the night of 15 September 2020, the four men decided to meet up and race on the A34 near Wilmslow.

Chaudhry, of Cheadle, was driving an Audi R8 and Saeed was in an Audi RS3, while Taj and Rashid were riding Suzuki motorbikes.

As they passed under the A555 bridge, they used a traffic lights as a starting flag, before accelerating out of sight within seconds.

They all crashed into a roundabout at about 22:10 BST, narrowly missing members of the public.

Taj and Rashid were unseated from their bikes, with Rashid then hit by the car driven by Saeed.

Cheshire Police said a witness saw Taj, who suffered fractures to his arm and foot, removing files from Instagram, before deleting the app.

Officers later found Chaudhry had several "trophy videos" on his phone showing him and others speeding on roads across the country.

One video showed him driving at 139mph in a 40mph zone on the A34, near his home in Kingsway, Cheadle.

Another showed him bragging about driving at 192mph on a motorway.

Sgt Andrew Dennison of Cheshire Police said: “As a result of the selfish and dangerous actions taken that night, four families have been torn apart.

“While Rashid was not wholly innocent, he did not deserve to die and if anything can be achieved from this case, I hope it acts as a warning to others and prevents any needless collisions like this from occurring again.”

Police continue to look for Chaudhry, who was sentenced in absentia at Manchester Minshull Street Court in December to 10 years and seven months in prison.

Saeed and Taj were also disqualified from driving for eight years and will be required to take an extended retest after that.

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