Birmingham City student caused fatal crash after driving 100mph while on his phone

A Birmingham City student caused a fatal crash after he drove 100mph whilst on his looking at Instagram on his phone.

Ghulam Hauder, a 22-year-old computer science student from Dudley, killed grandad of five Cliff Tamou, in a motorway crash.

The collision between the grey Toyota Avensis and stationary HGV occurred at 9:55pm on February 27th in the southbound direction of the M6 near Junction 15.

58-year-old Cliff was stood behind the motorway barrier waiting for his tyre to be changed after becoming “stranded” following a “blow out” on the attached trailer, according to Birmingham Live.

While a tyre fitter had already arrived on the scene, company policy dictated work could only commence once National Highways had closed lane one of the motorway. Despite having started work on the HGV, a traffic officer had alerted the fitter to the forthcoming danger, removing him from harm’s way.

Cliff Tamou, who died in the crash, via Staffordshire Police

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard how the BCU student had failed to adhere to the 50mph restriction and ignored warnings of Cliff’s incident to motorists. Hauder had then pulled across other lanes, causing other motorists to break sharply, before cutting into the hard shoulder and striking a traffic cone. The driver then narrowly missed the National Highways vehicle and collided into the HGV.

The tyre fitter described to the court the “loud bang” that followed the collision and claimed Hauder’s grey Toyota Avensis had become “embedded” into Cliff’s stationary HGV.

At the scene of the crash, the tyre fitter and traffic officer were at first unable to see Cliff and eventually discovered his body after searching the area.

Chief Inspector, Scott McGrath described the incident as a “completely avoidable death”.

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The police found Instagram messages on Hauder’s phone sent while he was driving. Further to this, the student was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, resorting to sitting on top of the safety device to prevent the alarms.

Hauder also has a history of filming himself behind the wheel and listening to YouTube through his car stereo. Videos taken from his device evidence the driver’s speeds of 100mph and frequent disregard for the rules of the road.

Judge Graeme Smith outlined to the court Hauder’s several explanations for the crash, including suggesting he fell ill before the fatal accident. Yet, data taken from the 22-year-old’s vehicle demonstrated continued speeds of 65mph.

The defence stated Hauder was remorseful for his actions. However, the judge condemned the lack of coherent reasoning behind the crash, concluding: “We will never know for sure what caused you to do this.”

Character testimonies for dad of six Cliff Tamou described him as a “friendly, hardworking, unselfish, courageous and fun-loving man”, who was well-known in the Rugby League community. He was also a rugby player, referee, and coach, who had moved to the UK from New Zealand.

Ghulam Hauder has since been sentenced to nine years and four months in prison as well as an 11 year driving ban.

Featured image via Unsplash