A TEENAGER has been jailed for the manslaughter of a Hyde-based restaurant owner who was killed by his own car while making a delivery.
Mohammed Islam, described as an ‘inspiration and example of how to live and love friends and family alike,’ died of injuries sustained when a 15-year-old boy got into the 53-year-old’s car and drove away.
On the evening of Friday, January 8, he was delivering a takeaway order in the Romiley area of Stockport to assist his delivery staff with the high demand they were experiencing that night.
After arriving at the address near the junction of Lyme Grove and Hazel Avenue shortly after 9pm, his silver Mercedes-Benz C Class – which his family had bought for him as a wedding anniversary gift – was stolen by the 15-year-old who drove the car away whilst Mohammed was running after the vehicle as it sped off.
Manchester Crown Court heard the teenager and a fellow associate – Connor Read, 19 – had been part of a group in a blue van looking to thieve in the area that night.
Mohammed, who was known as Nowab Miah and was a partner in the Marple Spice restaurant in Marple, suffered critical injuries while attempting to stop his car and was taken Salford Royal Hospital, where he died two days later.
Now after pleading guilty, the 15-year-old from the Brinnington area of Stockport, has been jailed for four years and nine months.
Read, of Mottram, was ordered to serve 13 months suspended for two years, for his role in the conspiracy to commit theft that fatal evening.
Meticulous enquiries uncovered the 15-year-old had taken a picture later that night of the Mercedes he had stolen, appearing to boast about the theft to his friends on social media.
Further work with forensics and CCTV saw detectives prove the three were in the area at the time and that it was the 15-year-old who stole the vehicle that fatally struck Mr Islam, who lived in Newton.
Detective Inspector Lee Shaw, of Greater Manchester Police’s Major Incident Team, said: “Mohammed’s death had such a profound impact on not just his family who thought the world of him, but also the community that he was such a prominent part of.
“Our investigative team have known from the outset the importance of catching all those involved in Mohammed’s tragic death and ensuring that we do all we can to try and get the justice that his loved one deserve.
“Mohammed’s killer may have intended on stealing a car rather than a life that night, but that does not reduce the damage that he caused by an act of brazen criminality that ultimately saw a man lose his life in dreadful circumstances.
“My thoughts remain with Mohammed’s family and we will continue to support them and try and get them all the answers they deserve as this investigation goes on to its next stage later this year, and while they will never get closure I hope they feel some level of justice now that their loved one’s killer is behind bars.”
Mr Islam was a committee member and former secretary of the Hyde Jamia Mosque and Islamic Centre, was admitted in a critical condition to Salford Royal where he died on Sunday afternoon.
Mosque vice-chairman Mizanur Rahman described the shock at the time, saying the “community was shattered.”
And Mr Islam’s children paid tribute, saying: “Our family cannot begin to describe what losing our father has done to us.
“The fact he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and was taken from us so early leaves us devastated beyond belief.
“Dad was everything you could ask for in a parent; a mentor, a role model – our best friend.
“We as a family have felt overwhelmed and truly humbled by the sheer volume of messages from people everywhere expressing their love and support. It just emphasises how truly special our dad was.”