Coventry man sentenced to ‘pitifully inadequate’ 22 months jail after hit and run kills pensioner

A judge has admitted his sentencing powers are ‘pitifully inadequate’ after a speeding hit-and-run driver who killed a pensioner was jailed for just 22 months.

Mohammed Ahmed, 33, ploughed into Milton Forde, 83, in his BMW as he crossed a road in Coventry.

A court heard how the restaurant boss sped away from the scene following the fatal collision and hid away in his home for two days.

Residents living nearby who heard the impact of the crash rushed to Mr Forde’s aid as he lay injured in the road.

They called for paramedics but he was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 11pm on May 12 last year.

Prosecutor Angus Robertson said Mr Forde had been one-and-a-half metres away from the kerb when he was struck by the BMW.

He told the court: ‘That collision was substantial and resulted in the death of Mr Forde.’

In a statement, Mr Forde’s brother Byron said: ‘I am still very distressed at the thought of my brother being left on the side of the road like a wild animal.

‘He died instantly, which means he had no-one with him, which makes me feel very sad and very angry.’

When Ahmed was arrested at his home he lied to police and claimed he did not know who had been driving his car at the time.

He went on to admit causing death by careless driving and was sentenced for 22 months at Warwick Crown Court on Friday. 

Ahmed was not charged with the more serious offence of death by dangerous driving – despite speeding at 50mph in a 30mph zone at the time of the crash.

Mr Forde’s family said he was ‘left on the side of the road like a wild animal’ after he was hit

Recorder Adrian Reynolds also banned him from driving for three years and 11 months and admitted sentencing guidelines were ‘pitifully inadequate’ for Mr Forde’s family.

Sentencing, the judge said: ‘Even when this case was committed to the crown court, your lawyer filled in a form in which you were challenging whether you were the driver.

‘The only reason, in my view, you have admitted this case is because you know that mobile phone evidence shows you were the driver, and that you had nowhere to hide.

‘I am afraid your remorse is more for the fact that you have been caught than for what you did.

‘This is aggravated by the fact that you drove off and made no attempt to help this poor man as he lay stricken in the road.

‘The prosecution have charged you with causing death by careless driving.

‘The maximum sentence for that offence is five years, as opposed to 14 years for causing death by dangerous driving.

‘The range of sentences under the guidelines will seem pitifully inadequate to the family of Mr Forde.’

The presiding judge said the sentence ‘will seem pitifully inadequate to the family of Mr Forde’

The court heard Ahmed, of Upper Stoke, Coventry, was arrested after a witness identified his blue BMW and made no comment during police interview.

His car was found to have damage to the front and the wing mirror and fibres from Mr Forde’s clothing at the point of impact. 

Mohammed Hafeez, defending Ahmed, said his client was finding it difficult to live with the fact that he was responsible for killing someone.

He said: ‘He made an appalling decision in driving at excessive speed that night, which has had a catastrophic outcome.’

Mr Hafeez said Ahmed had told him: ‘I never meant to kill Mr Forde. I have never hurt anyone in my life. I wish I had been doing 30mph and he would still be breathing.

‘I hope they will find it in their hearts to forgive me one day.’