Colin Agyei, 32, of Pear Tree Grove, Knottingley, has been jailed for six years after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. The conviction relates to the death of five-year-old Abdullah Ebrahim, who was hit by Agyei's Nissan Note on Back Camberley Street, Leeds, on July 7, 2022.
Agyei drove past a no entry sign onto the road and struck Abdullah, who died in hospital a short time later. The jury at Leeds Crown Court took around 40 minutes to convict him on Thursday, September 24.
Family's grief after four-year wait for justice
Abdullah's mother said in a statement: "I attended the trial and had to sit and listen to the defendant say that he did not see my son. I heard his account change several times, and I felt that he was not telling the truth about what happened."
She added: "The jury took only around 40 minutes to find him guilty on all counts. For me and my family, however, the pain did not end with that verdict. We have waited four years for justice."
"During that time, I have had to go through this awful ordeal again and again. Having to attend court, hear the evidence and relive the circumstances of Abdullah's death has caused me enormous emotional suffering."
"Four years have passed, but my grief has not passed. I still miss my son. I still think about him every day."
Collision 'completely avoidable'
Following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Steve Suggitt, of West Yorkshire Police's Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: "This was a truly tragic incident that resulted in the death of a young boy and robbed a family of a lifetime of shared memories."
He said: "This collision was completely avoidable had Agyei complied with the no entry sign and not driven into Back Camberley Street. Young Abdullah would not have been expecting a vehicle to be driving up the road and did not have time to react."
"While we estimate that Agyei was driving at a relatively low speed of around 15mph, during our investigation we thoroughly tested the back street and found that because of the nature of the road you cannot drive safely on it at speeds of over 7mph."
Agyei admitted a lesser careless driving offence but was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. Detective Sergeant Suggitt added: "While he has been given a custodial sentence, I know that no sentence can ever in any way equate to the lifetime of grief that Abdullah's family face."
