Driver to blame for his own fatal crash

SPEED AND ALCOHOL - NOT POLICE - LED TO CRASH HORROR

- STEPHANIE WAREHAM

A DRIVER who crashed his car into a tree while being followed by police died as a result of an accident caused by the speed he was driving and the influence of alcohol and drugs, a jury has found.

The jury at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court found Muhammad Qasim was aware of Pc Paul Withers following him in his marked police vehicle in Island Road, Handsworth, in the early hours of October 2 2023 before he lost control of his BMW and crashed.

The 29-year-old died having suffered “catastrophic” head injuries when he was ejected from the car after crashing into a tree - he was not wearing his seatbelt at the time.

He was also one and a half times over the drink-drive limit and had used cannabis, with a passenger telling police Qasim had been “mashed” in the hours prior to the crash having drunk vodka.