Men who inhaled laughing gas as they went over 130mph in 30mph zone jailed for fatal crash

Two men have been jailed for causing a fatal crash after driving at up to 139mph in a 30mph zone as they inhaled laughing gas.

Uways Hussain, 20, of Marley Road, Manchester, was jailed for 11 years and eight months after admitting causing death by dangerous driving and other offences.

Passenger Usmon Mahmood, 23, of Buller Road, Manchester, was sentenced to 12 years and nine months for aiding and abetting Hussain.

He initially claimed he had tried to warn his friend about the way he was driving a VW Golf GTI, which belonged to Mahmood.

Hussain was behind the wheel when he ran a red light and crashed into another car, killing 50-year-old Sylvester Abayomi, Manchester Crown Court heard on Friday.

The collision happened at the junction of Green End Road and Kingsway in Manchester at 4.30am on 9 March.

The car drove at speeds well over 100mph in 30mph zones throughout the night.

Footage on their phones captured their speeding and showed the pair inhaling nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, from balloons.

At times, Hussain had only one hand on the wheel.

Greater Manchester Police said it was believed to be one of the first times nationally where a passenger has been convicted for aiding and abetting death by dangerous driving.

The pair were unwittingly recorded in conversation in the moments after the crash by an automated feature on Hussain's Apple Watch.

The collision prompted the device to call 999, then captured audio of them discussing fleeing in an Uber and reporting their car as stolen.

Judge Nicholas Dean KC said the CCTV and camera footage of the incident were "terrifying".

He told the pair: "You drove at extreme speeds, seemingly up to very nearly 140mph, on roads which were by and large subject to 30mph speed limits, far, far in excess of any safe or lawful limit."

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Mr Abayomi's partner, Denise Doyle, told the court: "Sylvester was simply on his way to work. An ordinary hard-working man.

"He should have returned home to me safely that day. Because of your actions he never did."

Addressing the defendants, she added: "You left Sylv to die alone. You did not show him even a shred of compassion or humanity."

The court heard Hussain - a law student - had a previous conviction for drug-driving, while Mahmood had been about to start a Network Rail apprenticeship.

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