A second man has been convicted over a racing crash that killed a mother and her four-year-old daughter on their way to school in Leeds. Jasskamal Riyat, 37, of Buckstone Avenue, Moortown, was found guilty of causing the deaths of Justyna Hulboj, 27, and Lena Czepczor, four, by dangerous driving following a trial at Leeds Crown Court on Friday.
Hardeep Bhachu, 29, of Grant Road, Leeds, had previously pleaded guilty to the same charge. The pair raced on Scott Hall Road at around 8.30am on January 16, 2023, when Bhachu lost control of the white Audi TT he was driving and hit Justyna and Lena before colliding with the wall of the Vertu Jaguar Leeds car dealership. Both Justyna and Lena died at the scene, Yorkshire Live reports.
Racing captured on dashcam
Enquiries revealed that in the minutes before hitting the mother and daughter, Bhachu had been racing a black BMW 135i. This was eventually tracked to Riyat, who was captured racing on Bhachu's own dashcam footage. The pair could be heard having a conversation about the speed of their vehicles, with Bhachu telling Riyat: "I was at a quarter throttle. 560 horsepower."
Riyat could be heard saying: "Enjoy that, enjoy that" as both laughed. Later on his dashcam footage, which filmed Bhachu speeding off into the distance, Riyat could be heard to say: "Watch this guy lay...He's gone blud."
Family's grief
Following the verdict on Friday, Justyna's fiancé and Lena's father said: "Before 16 January 2023, my life was a fulfilment of my deepest dreams, I had everything that was most important in life. I had a good job, a wonderful fiancée, Justyna and a wonderful daughter, Lena.
"Unfortunately, on the morning of January 16, when I said goodbye to my family with the words 'I love you', I didn't know that it would be the last time I saw them. When I was informed about their deaths, my whole world collapsed in one second. Every day I feel a huge void after their departure, and I imagine what it would be like if they were still alive. We had so many plans and dreams and in one moment it all ended.
"I know that I will have to live with the burden of losing the two most important people in my life for the rest of my life. I would like to live normally again without all this, but I know that it is no longer possible, no one will bring back the lives of my fiancée and my daughter. This nightmare will last for the rest of my life.
"My dream was to have a wonderful family, and I must say that it came true for a short while, but that was taken away from me on the 16th of January. Unfortunately, all that remains are wonderful memories and a constant fight for the next day, which is not easy."
Police response
Detective Inspector Paul Conroy, of West Yorkshire Police’s Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: "This was an absolutely horrifying collision that I know even shocked experienced collision investigators. An innocent mother and daughter who were simply making their way to school never made it there and tragically never made it home because of the selfish, reckless actions of these two men.
"Bhachu and Riyat didn’t know each other. They were two men showing off their fast cars on a busy dual carriageway.
"We have released a video which shows the moments leading up to this collision. It is upsetting to watch but I hope that it might make people think about their own driving and encourage conversations with friends and family. Ultimately, Bhachu thought he could drive at those speeds in his high-powered car, but he couldn’t, and his loss of control took two lives and ruined many more.
"Riyat witnessed this collision but instead of stopping to check if those involved were okay, he left the scene. He denied his involvement but was convicted thanks to the extensive footage showing his speeding vehicle in the moments leading up to the collision.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who came forward to provide dashcam and CCTV footage which helped us to demonstrate the dangerous nature of both Bhachu and Riyat’s driving that morning."
