Man jailed after killing woman in fatal Nelson collision

A man has been jailed after killing a woman in a fatal collision in Nelson last year.

Abubakr Mahmood was jailed for 12 years and six months, and was banned from driving for 18 years.

At 8:31pm on Sunday 15th December, 51-year-old Safia Karieem finished her shift working as a carer in Nelson. Her daughter was at home, waiting for her mum to return.

At the same time, Mahmood was showing off, driving at speeds way over the limit, despite already being a disqualified driver.

It was later found that five seconds before the collision, the VW Golf driven by Mahmood was travelling at 50mph, one second later, the throttle input increased by 100%, meaning that the accelerator was fully pressed to the floor. Over the next few seconds, Mahmood’s speed increased on the 30mph road, before he collided with Safia at 65mph, over double the speed limit.

Safia was thrown 60 metres down the road. She suffered unsurviveable injuries. Mahmood left her to die at the scene, not slowing down or stopping.

The vehicle was found parked on Pennine Crescent, with significant damage to the windscreen from the collision.

An investigation was launched, and following a number of enquiries, Mahmood was identified as the driver.

As part of police enquiries, Mahmood’s phone was seized. On his phone, we found messages between Mahmood and his associates saying, ‘I wasn’t doing anything stupid’ and ‘If I was doing 100mph or somma it’s different’.

He had also researched the term ‘death by dangerous driving’.

A number of videos showing Mahmoods pattern of dangerous driving were also uncovered by our officers.

Mahmood, 20 of Farrer Street, Nelson was charged with a further count of dangerous driving and pleaded guilty to that charge and causing death by dangerous driving and driving without insurance at Preston Crown Court.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: ‘’Nothing will bring Safia back to her children. We have seen an emerging pattern of dangerous driving in Lancashire, and it is not, and never will be acceptable.

‘’Mahmood thought it was more than ok to drive in the manner he did. It is not. Mahmood’s driving took a life and destroyed others. You may think that driving like this is just a bit of fun, but eventually, you will have to face up to the realisation that you have taken someone’s life. Young drivers who think this is ok need to wake up, before it is too late.

‘’If you choose to do this, we will stop you, we will find out who you are, and we will bring you to justice. A life should not be the price to pay for the thrill over driving over the speed limit.

‘’If you know of someone who drives dangerously, please do the responsible thing and report it to us on 101. If you see someone driving dangerously, call 999.’’