TWO men have been jailed for a total of more than nine-and-a-half years after a 22-year-old law graduate was killed in a crash which ended a race between the two men in the early hours.

Haaris Khan, 26, of Park Grove, Frizinghall, was driving an Audi RS4 at speeds of 75 miles per hour when he lost control of the car in Bradford Road, Bingley, at around 4am on Sunday, February 26, 2017.

The car spun off the road and collided with a tree, killing passenger Shamas Fakeer, who was thrown from the car.

He had been racing with Haaris Khan, 25, of West Park Road, Girlington, who was driving his brother’s Volkswagen Golf.

The Audi driver pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, and the Golf driver was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after a trial.

He was also found guilty of causing death while driving without a driving licence and while uninsured. He pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of public justice halfway through the trial.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp told Bradford Crown Court how the two men had met up at the junction of Toller Lane and Duckworth Lane at around 4am that day, before setting off towards Bingley to race.

The two cars travelled in convoy close together towards the town driving in excess of the speed limit, and were seen by a witness, David Greenwood, travelling at speed and jockeying for position.

Mr Sharp said after crossing Cottingley Bridge, the two cars were spotted driving side by side, with the Audi on the wrong side of the road, at a speed of 75mph, shortly before the fatal crash.

Khan who was driving the Audi was taken to hospital for a minor head injury before being arrested, and Khan in the Golf parked up near the crash site and walked home with his passengers, texting his brother ‘Never will I drive again no legit, not worth it. F**k’.

The next day Khan told police his brother had been driving the car and the crash was nothing to do with him. While he was on trial alongside his brother, Khan admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice and the case against his brother was dropped.

Andrew Dallas, mitigating for the Audi driving Khan, said he had shown “genuine and heartfelt remorse” at being responsible for the death of his “best friend”.

Mr Dallas told the court he is “struggling to cope with the guilt and shame of what he had done”, and “did not deny the driving was competitive”.

He said: “He has suffered a severe psychiatric reaction to this incident.

“He was vulnerable before this, with a history of depression, and it has been disabling for him since.

“He had a broken and unusual childhood. He never knew his father and left his mother around the time he was born. His mother remarried when he was 12 and he didn’t get along with her new partner.

“He left to live with his aunt, who he works for and who the car belonged to.

“He is also the carer for one of his sisters who has very special needs.

“He has a good record. This is not a boy racer show off at all, he was acting out of character.

“He said Shamas Fakeer was his best friend, and this is something he will have to live with for the rest of his life.”

In mitigation for Khan the driver of the Golf, the court was told he was now on prescription anti-depressants and was struggling to sleep, but accepted he “contributed significantly to the death”.

A victim impact statement, from Shamas Fakeer’s sister Rehana Ikram, was also read to the court.

She described him as “a loving son and brother” and “the smile on our family’s face”, and how the family had been “shredded by inconsiderate and selfish people”.

She said: “Seeing my old parents visit my baby brother every day is unbearable.

“I hope no-one ever has to go through this. Shamas is missed every single day and we will never get of the loss of him.

“Every moment spent with him will be cherished, words cannot explain our pain enough.”

Sentencing the pair, Judge David Hatton QC said: “You made a decision to embark upon competitive driving, or racing.

“I accept not all the driving during the journey was dangerous, but you travelled at excessive speed. At one stage the Golf was caught on a speed camera going 61mph, and both cars were seen travelling side by side at 75mph.

“It was then on a stretch of straight road the Audi driver lost control due to your speed. The car rotated across the opposite carriageway and struck a tree and the passenger was killed.

“You both agreed to take part in this, it was not spontaneous. It was a deliberate and prolonged case of bad driving.

“You created a substantial risk of danger, and deliberately ignored the rules of the road.”

Haaris Khan, 26, was sentenced to four years and four months in prison for causing death by dangerous driving. and banned from driving for seven years and two months.

Haaris Khan, 25, was jailed for five and a half years for causing death by dangerous driving. He also received six months each for causing death while uninsured and causing death by driving without a licence, and three months for perverting the course of justice, all to be served concurrently. He was also banned from driving for seven years and eight months.