Sania Shabbir, 26, was jailed for 4½ years on 14th June 2023 for killing Martyn Gall, 40 and causing life changing injuries to James Middleton, 31, on the A441 near Redditch just before 8am on Saturday 14th November 2020. Adam Western, prosecuting Shabbir, told Birmingham Crown Court that the two men were dedicated and experienced cyclists who were on a long bike ride as members of the Sette Dodici cycling club. Shabbir was on her way home in Redditch having worked a night shift at an Amazon depot in Mansfield. Analysis of Shabbir’s iPhone 12 showed that during her journey she had used the phone repeatedly to access its applications such as YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp. At 7.20am, about 25 minutes before she drove into the two cyclists, she had used the phone to take and send a photo from the driving seat of her VW Golf of the car’s steering wheel, dashboard and the road ahead, a dual carriageway. The photo showed her speedometer and that her car was travelling at 67 mph. The court heard from the families of the two men of the devastating impact of the collision. As well as being jailed, Shabbir was banned from driving for 4 years and 9 months and until she has passed an extended driving test.
On 15th June 2023, the Sentencing Council published new guidelines for motoring offences and updated its guideline on sentencing offences of causing death by dangerous driving. Under the revised guideline, which is effective from 1st July 2023, the fact the victim was a vulnerable road user, such as a cyclist, would count as an aggravating factor increasing the seriousness of the offence even further.
www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/news/item/sentencing-guidelines-for-motoring-offences-published/