Man jailed for Bradford road rage row that ended in fatal crash

A driver involved in a road rage incident which ended with a mother-of-two dying in a fatal crash has been jailed.

Mohammed Abbas and Isma Nawaz, 38, had been driving aggressively against each other before Ms Nawaz crashed in Bradford in June 2020

Sentencing Abbas for causing death by dangerous driving, a judge at Bradford Crown Court said the pair had driven in an "aggressive and combative manner".

Abbas, 27, was jailed for three years.

The court heard Mrs Nawaz died at the scene on Harrogate Road, Apperley Bridge, after she lost control of her Vauxhall Astra and collided with a parked Ford Focus.

Abbas, of Richmond Avenue, Huddersfield, drove away in his Audi A3 and was later arrested.

Judge Jonathon Rose said he could not be sure the defendant had been aware of the collision but there was no doubt that Mrs Nawaz's death was "entirely avoidable and entirely unnecessary".

CCTV clips of Mrs Nawaz driving closely behind Abbas were played in court.

Abbas said he had been "tailgated" and that Mrs Nawaz, who had two young daughters, had also tried to undertake his car.

He also claimed he had been dabbing his brakes to get the Astra to slow down, but the judge suggested that may have caused Mrs Nawaz to make a sudden manoeuvre causing her to lose control and crash.

Judge Rose said neither driver had any reason to be driving at excessive speed on their way to work on the morning of 23 June, nor was there a reason for "racing or challenging" each other.

"The driving of each of you, I must say, was wholly without justification," he said.

But he accepted Abbas, who only had a speeding offence from 2018 on his record, had expressed genuine remorse.

Judge Rose said Mrs Nawaz's death had deprived her husband, parents, siblings and children of their "diamond".

Abbas, who pleaded guilty last year to causing death by dangerous driving, was also banned from the road for five-and-a-half years.

He also admitted not having valid insurance for his drive to work that morning.

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