Death crash driver stole family's future - husband

Anayat Ur-Rehman carried out a dangerous manoeuvre that caused a five-car crash, police said

A man who caused a crash that killed a woman and left her daughter seriously injured has been jailed for more than eight years.

Anayat Ur-Rehman, 26, of Holcombe Road, Birmingham, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving at Worcester Crown Court.

Abigail Hudson, 49, died instantly on the A456 Hagley causeway - the main road from Birmingham to Worcestershire - on 19 October last year, and her daughter, then 10, suffered "catastrophic injuries" including a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain.

In a victim impact statement, Ryan Hudson said the future he had built with his wife had been stolen and their children's lives irreversibly altered.

"Our youngest suffered catastrophic injuries in the crash," Mr Hudson said. "She now must take medication for the rest of her life and the scars on her face will forever serve as a daily reminder of what happened."

He said his wife would not see her daughters grow up, be there for proms and graduations, see them fall in love, be at their weddings or hold her grandchildren.

"Every single one of those moments that should have been filled with joy will instead be marked with sadness," Mr Hudson said.

'Total disregard for safety'

Det Con Joe Curry, from West Mercia Police, said Ur-Rehman's dangerous actions and appalling driving had destroyed a family.

He said Ur-Rehman "showed a total disregard for the safety of the other road users" after carrying out a highly dangerous manoeuvre that caused a five-car crash.

Police said Ur-Rehman had been driving a VW Passat on the dual carriageway at about 13:15 BST when, travelling over the speed limit, he undertook a Ford Fiesta and hit the back of it as he did so.

The Fiesta went into the air, flipped over the grass central reservation and hit the Audi Mrs Hudson was driving in the opposite direction, with her two daughters and husband in the car.

Ur-Rehman was jailed for eight years and eight months for causing death by dangerous driving and banned from driving.

He also received a three-year term, to be served concurrently, for causing serious injury by dangerous driving.