Incoming Leeds Beckett student killed by driver who was speeding and using phone

An incoming Leeds Beckett student was killed by a driver who was speeding and using their phone.

Romeesa Ahmed,  a 27-year-old trainee nurse, has been jailed for nine years after killing Athira Anilkumar Laly Kumari.

28-year-old Athira, a mother of one, was hit by Ahmed’s VW Golf in February 2023. Ahmed was returning from a night shift, driving 60mph in a 40mph zone and using her phone, the Daily Mail reports.

After hitting Athira, Ahmed crashed into a bus shelter and injured a man waiting nearby.

The incoming Leeds Beckett student had arrived in the UK from India only days before her death. She was about to start her degree as a mature student at the university.

Prosecutor Jessica Strange told the court: “Kumari’s aspirations were shattered when she was struck by Ahmed.”

She said Athira was “hurled into the air” and “somersaulted” to the ground.

Emergency crews tried to save her, but she died from “severe head injuries.”

A 42-year-old man standing at the bus stop was also injured in the crash.

Ms Strange told the court: “He said he saw both of his legs facing the wrong way so knew both had been broken and ‘felt the worst pain he had ever experienced’.”

He needed emergency leg surgery and suffered a fractured elbow. He spent five months in the hospital.

The court heard that Ahmed received two driving bans after the fatal crash – one in July 2023 and another in October, and had been using Snapchat on her phone whilst driving.

Most Read

Police release statement after influencer Emilie Kiser’s son tragically drowns in pool

Bonnie Blue has been ‘arrested’ as her sister posts statement and dramatic footage

Is Klarna really going bankrupt and shutting down? This is what’s actually happening

Her lawyer called it a “ghastly error of judgement on this day.”

“You killed her,” the judge told Ahmed. Judge Tom Bayliss KC gave her a nine year sentence and banned her from driving for 11 years.

He said: “You were ignoring the speed limit. You did not see Mrs Kumari because of the speed you were travelling and perhaps distracted by something on your phone. You killed her.”

Ahmed’s sentence was for causing the death of another woman and seriously injuring a man in a collision in Leeds.

Athira’s family said: “She was not just a member of our family – she was our foundation, the glue that held us all together… Athira was the heart of our lives. Her absence has left a void so deep, so profound, that even words fail to convey the magnitude of our grief.”

Detective Constable Adele Murphy-Hartley said: “Ahmed’s recklessness has resulted in the loss of a determined woman who came to England to better herself and secure a bright future for her and her family.”

She added: “Athira made the difficult decision to leave her young daughter in the care of family… and now her young daughter will have to grow up not knowing her mother.”

Featured image via West Yorkshire Police