Calderdale drug gang member involved in head-on crash during police chase has jail term extended
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Shazad Ahmed was spotted behind the wheel of a VW Golf GTD hours after he had been given bail by magistrates over an allegation of driving while disqualified and while he was already on bail in relation to a major heroin conspiracy case.
But when police officers tried to stop the car in the Bramley Lane area of Hipperholme last August Ahmed drove off at about 60mph before going onto the wrong side of the road and crashing head-on into a Citroen car.
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Hide AdBradford Crown Court heard that the 22-year-old driver of the Citroen suffered a back injury, whiplash and concussion and his car was written off.
The VW Golf was also severely damaged and although Ahmed initially claimed to have been a rear-seat passenger his DNA was found on the airbag.
Prosecutor Andrew Horton said the Citroen driver had to give up riding horses because of problems with his back and had to delay starting a new job following the collision.
Ahmed, of Old Cottage Close, Hipperholme, Brighouse, appeared in court via a video link to HMP Nottingham where he currently serving his eight year and eight months sentence for his role in the heroin conspiracy.
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Hide AdHe went on the run last November when he should have been sentenced alongside his co-conspirators, but after being arrested on a warrant he was eventually jailed on January 11.
Ahmed pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving, driving without insurance and without a licence in respect of the Hipperholme crash and Judge Jonathan Rose sentenced him to an additional one year in jail.
The judge concluded that the one-year sentence should be consecutive to Ahmed's current term adding that the public would be dismayed if the 36-year-old's driving that evening did not attract a signficant penalty of its own.
Ahmed, who had 20 convictions for 45 offences on his criminal record, was also banned from driving for five years and eight months and he must take an extended driving test at the end of the disqualification period.
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