Bus driver sentenced for causing fatal cafe crash

Mena Amica was "dedicated to her family, friends and faith", her sister said

A bus driver who crashed into a cafe in Manchester city centre, killing a woman, has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Almena Amica, 77, who was known as Mena, died in hospital after the bus struck the T4 bubble tea cafe in Piccadilly Gardens in October 2023. Eleven other people were injured.

Khalid Mahmood, 66, previously pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

He was given a two-year suspended jail sentence and banned from driving for five years.

'Sense of absence'

Several passengers and pedestrians suffered from minor injuries.

Mahmood, from Eccles, had claimed the crash was a result of a defected vehicle, Greater Manchester Police said.

But a specialist forensic reconstruction officer found this that this was not the case, with his report concluding that it happened as a result of a failure to apply the brakes.

After Mahmood was sentenced, Mena's sister described her as a woman who was "dedicated to her family, friends and faith".

"It is impossible to put into words the impact the death of my sister has had on me, to translate feelings into words, to convey the sense of the absence of Mena into words," she said.

"Mena was my last living sibling, we had so many plans together, but her future has been taken away from her, and our shared plans have been taken from me."

She thanked the police and the charity, Brake, for their support.

"I am also very grateful to all the members of the public who went to Mena's aid at the time of the incident and for the flowers left in her memory," she added.