Two men who used the road as ‘a racetrack’ before killing a mother and her four-year-old daughter have been jailed.
Hardeep Bhachu and Jasskamal Riyat, who did not know each other, began racing when they met at traffic lights and drove their high-performance cars at up to 90mph in a residential area.
When stopped at another red light, the dashcam of Bhachu’s white Audi TT captured the pair discussing the performance and horsepower of their respective vehicles.
Riyat, who was driving a black BMW 135i, was following closely behind Bhachu’s Audi when it hit Justyna Hulboj, 27, and her daughter, Lena Czepczor, who were walking to the girl’s nursery in Leeds.
They both died at the scene.
At Leeds Crown Court today, Bhachu, who admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, was jailed for 12 years.
Riyat, who denied racing but was found guilty of the same offences following a trial earlier this year, was jailed for 16 years.
The court heard the men found themselves alongside each other at traffic lights in the morning rush hour on January 16 2023 on the A61 in Leeds.
Justyna Hulboj, 27, and her four-year-old daughter Lena Czepczor were killed when an Audi mounted the pavement
Jasskamal Riyat, 37, from Leeds, was jailed for 16 years after he was found guilty of two counts of causing death by dangerous driving following a trial
Hardeep Bhachu admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for 12 years
Footage shown to the court pictures a powerful black BMW driven by Jasskamal Riyat, 37, and an Audi TT driven by Hardeep Bhachu
They began accelerating aggressively and drove at high speeds, weaving around traffic and stopping only at red lights.
At the final traffic lights before the collision, Riyat, 37, used his mobile telephone to film Bhachu, 29, before both vehicles accelerated away.
About 65m before the collision with Miss Hulboj and her daughter, the Audi was travelling at about 89mph in an area where the 40mph speed limit was transitioning to 30mph.
The Audi then mounted the pavement and collided with Miss Hulboj while she was helping her daughter with her coat. Riyat fled the scene.
Sentencing the pair, both from Leeds, Judge Ray Singh said: ‘A road is not a racetrack. A powerful car is not an invitation to test its limits on a public road.
‘The consequences of competitive driving at extreme speed can be, and in this case were, irreversible. Two people died.
‘One of them was a 27-year-old mother, the other was her four-year-old daughter. They had done nothing wrong; they were simply walking to school.’
Pictures captured the aftermath of the crash in Leeds in January 2023
Riyat was driving a black BMW 135i when he met Bhachu by chance on his way to work
Riyat admitted during his evidence that he had been travelling at up to 50mph in the 40mph zone, had illegally used his mobile phone while driving and had undertaken other vehicles
He added: ‘Two families must now live with a loss that can never be undone. Justyna and Lena should have gone to school that morning. They should have returned home.
‘They should have continued with their lives. Instead, their lives ended on a pavement because two drivers chose to drive in a manner which placed speed and competition above the safety of everyone around them.’
In a victim impact statement, Miss Hulboj’s fiancé, Dominik Czepczor, said his ‘whole world collapsed in one second.’
‘Before 16 January 2023, my life was a fulfilment of my deepest dreams, I had everything that was most important in life,’ he said.
‘I had a good job, a wonderful fiancée, Justyna and a wonderful daughter, Lena.
‘Unfortunately, on the morning of January 16, when I said goodbye to my family with the words “I love you”, I didn’t know that it would be the last time I saw them.’
He added: ‘Every day I feel a huge void after their departure, and I imagine what it would be like if they were still alive. We had so many plans and dreams and in one moment it all ended.
‘I know that I will have to live with the burden of losing the two most important people in my life for the rest of my life.
‘I would like to live normally again without all this, but I know that it is no longer possible, no one will bring back the lives of my fiancée and my daughter.
‘This nightmare will last for the rest of my life.’
Defending Bhachu, Susannah Proctor told the court that her client was a ‘normal person who’s made a massive mistake.’
Riyat attempted to maintain that he was not driving dangerously and blamed Bhachu for what happened.
