TRAGEDY: Hamza Gujjar was pronounced dead at the scene following the horror smash
TRAGEDY: Hamza Gujjar was pronounced dead at the scene following the horror smash

Teenager high on cannabis killed three of his friends in high-speed crash

A teenager ‘high on cannabis’ who killed three of his friends in a horror sports car smash after reaching speeds of up to 120mph has been jailed for six years on the day of his 18th birthday.

Boy racer, Arayeb Saqib, admitted causing the death of three of his friends while driving an Audi S5 so fast it became airborne.

Hours after they had attended a family wedding, Saqib – who was 17 at the time and who did not hold a driving licence – got behind the wheel of a hired super performance sports car with his four friends.

Saqib, who turned 18 today, bowed his head in the dock as he was told that his driving during the early hours of 27th April had been the ‘worst case of causing death by dangerous driving’ that the sentencing judge at Manchester Crown Court had ever encountered.

Police saw the car driving dangerously through South Manchester but an officer decided it was not safe to go beyond 80mph after giving chase.

By the time the vehicle had crossed a junction it was going at such speed that the camber of the road acted as a ramp.

The car took off, flew through the air, and hurtled over to where it landed on the other side of the road.

Saqib lost control, and skidded sideways for 100 metres, crashing into a sign and two parked cars, causing his friends’ horrific injuries.

It has been reported that at the hospital he claimed to be a passenger, telling nurses he saw the speedometer reach 110mph,

Three of his passengers – Hamza Iqbal, 24, Mohammad Hamza Gujjar, 21, and Munib Karim, 20 – were all fatal victims of the resulting smash . A fourth – Suhaib Aziz, 19 – ‘miraculously’ survived the collision – albeit with serious injurious.

Mr Karim, whose sister’s wedding had taken place only hours earlier, died in hospital the following day.

Judge David Stockdale QC said Saqib’s ‘truly appalling driving’ had been motivated by a ‘selfish wish for self-preservation’ and desire to impress his older friends.

At an earlier hearing, Saqib, who had not been at the wedding, pleaded guilty to three charges of causing death by dangerous driving and one charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

In opening the case, prosecutor Gavin Howie said the white Audi was witnessed by a police patrol car driving ‘out of control’ – describing the car as ‘fishtailing’ as it travelled in the opposite direction to the officer.

When the officer activated his sirens the Audi sped up to speeds of around 70mph along the 30 and 40mph road before disappearing from sight.

Mr Howie told the court: “The truth is he never really got close to it.”

Two men were pronounced dead at the scene – one having been thrown from the window.