Two men jailed after fatal crash in Rowley Regis
- Published
Arjun Dosanjh (left) and Jacek Wiatrowski have been jailed for six years after their racing caused a fatal crash
Two men have been jailed after killing an elderly woman in a high speed crash.
Surinder Kaur, 81, died after she was hit by a vehicle on Oldbury Road in Rowley Regis, West Midlands, on 13 November 2022.
Arjun Dosanjh, 26, and Jacek Wiatrowski, 51, did not know each other but decided to race after pulling up at traffic lights next to each other, police said.
Both vehicles were significantly exceeding the speed limit, they added.
CCTV footage showed Wiatrowski, who was driving a black BMW, braking heavily as he spotted Mrs Kaur crossing the road.
He narrowly missed her but detectives said he caused Dosanjh, who was driving a blue Mini, to swerve on to the wrong side of the road, avoiding the BMW but hitting Mrs Kaur.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing.
At Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday, Wiatrowski, of Pine Avenue, Wednesbury, and Dosanjih, of MacDonald Close, Oldbury, were each jailed for six years and banned from driving for eight years.
Family 'haunted' by thoughts
In a victim statement read out to the court and released by police, Mrs Kaur's family said: "Our mum lived a very simple life. She was a deeply religious woman and on the day of the accident she was on her way home from the Gurdwara.
"The days and weeks after mum's death were really tough; as well as trying to come to terms with our loss we had to deal with an ongoing police investigation.
"My first thought every morning is of mum, my last thought every night is of mum. These thoughts are not happy memories, but the thought of the pain she must have experienced in those final moments of her life. These thoughts haunt all of her family."
Det Sgt Chris Ridge, from West Midlands Police, said: "Wiatrowski and Dosanjh did not know each other and were driving competitively - this dangerous and foolish action has cost a life."
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