A teenager who rapped “ran that b**** over, baby got packed” after a hit-and-run crash that killed a pregnant woman’s unborn child has been detained for three years alongside his older brother who was jailed for 13 years.
Sam Shahid, 17, recorded the vile lyrics glorifying the death of baby Olive after his brother Ashir Shahid, 20, mowed down five-months-pregnant Renju Joseph on a zebra crossing in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, while driving at up to 71mph in a 30mph zone.
Preston Crown Court heard the brothers showed no remorse following the horrific crash on September 29 last year, with mobile phone footage revealing they laughed and sang as they drove erratically through residential streets before striking the 31-year-old care home worker.
Pregnant Mother Hit at ‘Formula 1’ Speeds
Mrs Joseph was walking to her night shift with two female colleagues when Ashir Shahid accelerated towards the zebra crossing on Station Road at around 7.50pm. The Toyota Prius was travelling between 58mph and 71mph in dark, wet conditions when it struck the expectant mother.
A witness travelling in the opposite direction said the driver appeared to increase speed about 15 metres from the crossing before swerving around two pedestrians and hitting Mrs Joseph, who was walking slightly behind her colleagues.
“The pregnant woman was hit and thrown into the air for quite some distance before she tumbled and rolled into his car,” the witness told the court.
Sentencing, Judge Ian Unsworth KC said Ashir Shahid’s acceleration in the moments before impact was “akin to what you may see on a Formula 1 race track.
Baby Olive Lived Just Five Hours
Mrs Joseph was rushed to hospital where doctors performed an emergency caesarean section in a desperate attempt to save her son’s life. The baby boy, named Olive, survived for just five hours and 38 minutes before dying in the early hours of September 30.
“Olive’s life lasted five hours and 38 minutes. He did not live to see dawn. His mother never saw him alive,” Judge Unsworth told the court. “His life was snubbed out before it really began.”
The expectant mother spent a fortnight in a coma before learning of her son’s death. She and her nurse husband, Nyjil Jonn, had planned a gender reveal party at a baby shower for family and friends just three days after the crash.
Mrs Joseph suffered life-changing injuries including a bleed to the brain, a cracked spinal cord and fractures to her pelvis, ribs and leg. She has had to learn to walk again and struggles to stand for long periods.
Brothers’ Shocking Behaviour After Crash
Video clips recovered from both brothers’ mobile phones showed them laughing and singing as the car moved erratically through streets before the collision. Sam Shahid was seen putting his feet and upper body out of the window while his older brother removed both hands from the wheel at times to make gun gestures.
Minutes after hitting Mrs Joseph, the brothers abandoned the Toyota in a side street and covered it with a sheet. Others then moved the vehicle onto a flatbed truck and dumped it in Farnworth, Greater Manchester.
When arrested days later, Ashir Shahid’s phone revealed he had searched “charge for hit and run human” on the night of the collision. A Snapchat video showed him singing along to Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” whilst laughing.
Most disturbingly, voice recordings captured Sam Shahid rapping: “Ran that b**** over, baby got packed. She still not woke up, she still asleep.”
Judge Condemns Brothers’ Lack of Remorse
Judge Unsworth condemned both brothers for their complete lack of remorse, telling them: “You seemingly have no moral compass. Throughout these proceedings you have sat with your heads down as if in shame. You have no shame.”
He described how they “disappeared into the night like cowards” following the collision before acting with “breathtaking coolness” to cover up their crime.
To Sam Shahid, the judge said: “You sang utterly vile rap songs in which you glorified the events of that evening and speak in utterly despicable ways of Renju and her dead son Olive. It defies belief.
“You have an ingrained criminality and are someone who at the age of 17 seems to revel in and take pleasure from it.”
The court heard Sam Shahid had six previous convictions for 13 offences including burglary and vehicle theft. His lawyer, Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe, said he told her that rapping about the tragedy “makes it easier for him to cope with, as odd as that sounds”.
Sentences and Driving Ban
Ashir Shahid, of Windsor Road, Walton le Dale, Preston, pleaded guilty in June to causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving. He was sentenced to 13 years detention and banned from driving for 15 years and one month. He must serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before being released on licence and pass an extended retest to regain his licence.
Sam Shahid, also of Windsor Road, was detained for three years after pleading guilty to assisting an offender. The judge lifted reporting restrictions that had prevented him being named due to his age.
Jonathan Duffy, defending Ashir Shahid, said his client “deeply regrets his behaviour immediately after the offence” and had expressed feelings of shame, guilt and remorse in a letter to the court. “All he can say is that he panicked and was in shock,” Mr Duffy said.
Family’s Devastating Loss
In a victim impact statement, Mrs Joseph said: “Everything has been ruined by that one night. My life will never be the same again. I will never get to meet my baby, be a mummy to him or watch him grow up. They have taken my first child away from me and I will never get him back.”
Following sentencing, the Josephs’ lawyer, Cathy Leach of JMW Solicitors, said: “The enormity of the tragic effects of the accident and the injuries sustained are something Renju and Nyjil will live with daily. Their lives will never be the same.”
She added that the couple wished to retain their privacy but had asked her to thank “the many people who have been magnificent in their response to the tragedy”, particularly witnesses who gave evidence to police and the court.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows of Lancashire Constabulary said: “My thoughts first and foremost today are with Renju and family. They have been through the most appalling ordeal and my heart goes out to them. They have shown the most incredible dignity and courage since this tragic collision and throughout these proceedings.
“In contrast Ashir Shahid and his co-defendant have shown nothing but arrogance and a lack of remorse for what they have done.”
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