Two drivers who raced their high-performance cars along a city centre road, killing a mother and her four-year-old daughter, have been jailed for 16 and 12 years.
Justyna Hulboj, 27, and her daughter, Lena Czepczor, were walking to the girl's nursery in Leeds when they were hit by a white Audi TT on the A61 Scott Hall Road on January 16 2023.
Hardeep Bhachu, the driver of the Audi, admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. Jasskamal Riyat, who was driving a black BMW 135i closely behind, denied racing but was found guilty of the same offences at a trial earlier this year.
Sentencing at Leeds Crown Court
At Leeds Crown Court on Monday, Judge Ray Singh jailed Bhachu for 12 years and Riyat for 16 years.
The judge told the pair: “A road is not a racetrack. A powerful car is not an invitation to test its limits on a public road.
“The consequences of competitive driving at extreme speed can be, and in this case were, irreversible. Two people died. One of them was a 27-year-old mother, the other was her four-year-old daughter. They had done nothing wrong; they were simply walking to school.”
Impact on the families
Judge Singh said: “Two families must now live with a loss that can never be undone. Justyna and Lena should have gone to school that morning. They should have returned home.
“They should have continued with their lives. Instead, their lives ended on a pavement because two drivers chose to drive in a manner which placed speed and competition above the safety of everyone around them. Nothing this court can do can restore those lives.”
