Man Jailed For Reading Crash

11 April 2013, 17:45 | Updated: 12 April 2013, 05:05

A man’s starting a five-and-a-half year jail sentence after a 12-year-old boy died in a crash in Reading.

Aadil Asghar, 25, of Rosedale Crescent, Earley was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

Police say he was speeding in a bus lane when he hit Harsh Dharmendra at a pedestrian crossing last year.

Investigating officer, PC Jim Lovell said: “This has been a very emotional and tragic investigation from the outset where the family has struggled to come to terms with the loss of their 12-year-old son.

“This case relates to a particularly poor piece of driving where Asghar made some very bad decisions seemingly out of pure impatience.

“Asghar never set out that afternoon to kill anyone.

“But the decisions he made at that time to drive at speed in a bus lane on a busy stretch of road, resulted in the needless loss of a young boy’s life, who was simply crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing going home after school.

“Not only does this case demonstrate the importance of showing patience and restraint while behind the wheel it also highlights the need to be vigilant and to drive safely within the law.

“The family has remained calm and restrained throughout the investigation and has acted with extreme dignity.

“They are thankful that justice has been done and the case is now over so that they can begin to rebuild their lives. We extend our deepest condolences to his family.”

Baljit Ubhey OBE, Chief Crown Prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service said: “We have worked closely with Thames Valley Police since this investigation was launched. This was a tragic incident, which led to the untimely death of an innocent 12-year-old boy. An avoidable accident, which caused an avoidable death.

“This was a very sad case, the consequences of which have had a terrible impact on many lives. The victim was a young boy with his whole life ahead of him and his family and friends have been devastated by his death.

“Asghar embarked on a course of irresponsible, aggressive, and selfish driving at excessive speed. He made a deliberate decision to flagrantly disregard the rules of the road. There was no doubt that his driving was dangerous and it should have been obvious to him that he was putting the lives of others at substantial risk.

“As a result of the hard work and diligence of the prosecution team, a just outcome has been achieved. We hope that the conviction and sentence will in some way help the boy’s family come to terms with this tragic event.

“Asghar has today been sentenced to five and a half years imprisonment. However, no matter how long the prison sentence is, we acknowledge that nothing can make up for the loss of this 12-year-old boy. Our thoughts are very much with his family at this time.”