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London driver who lethally crashed in to man at 140mph jailed for eight years

Perry Richardson

Updated: Oct 2, 2020


A man who caused the death of another driver in a road collision on the A12 in east London has been jailed.


Ashraf Salem, 24, appeared at the Old Bailey on 25 September where he was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison after his dangerous driving lead to 29-year-old Osama Sayam dying in 2018.

In the early hours on 6 September 2018 at around 2am Salem was driving a blue Range Rover on the A12 towards Essex.


According to police sources, Salem’s driving had become lethal, accelerating his car to speeds over 140mph - the road has a 40mph speed limit. As his car approached the Greenman Underpass on the A12, Salem began to lose control of his car. He collided with an Audi being driven by Osama travelling in the same direction, both vehicles then span out of control.


Officers rushed to the scene alongside paramedics, however Osama tragically died as a result of his serious injuries.

Two of Salem’s passengers were injured in the collision. Both are still recovering from the incident.


Salem was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and was charged following an investigation by the Roads and Transport Policing command. At an earlier hearing, Salem admitted one count of causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving following overwhelming evidence which proved his guilt.

Image: Ashraf Salem (Met Police)

Detective Sergeant Edward Coleman, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This is a heart-breaking tale, where a young man has lost his life due to the selfish and utterly reckless actions of another road user. The speed which Salem was travelling was quite frankly horrifying and he should be ashamed of himself.


“There can be no doubt that Salem’s speed killed Osama. I can only hope that this case serves as a stark warning to other road users that speed is lethal.


“Osama’s family are rightly davstated by his sudden and tragic death, I hope Salem’s prison sentence offers some comfort as they continue to grieve.”


Osama’s sister Izzy said: "Our beloved Ozzy was a loving son, brother, uncle and friend who was always smiling and put the needs of others before his own. Although he is no longer with us in person, he has left us with everlasting beautiful memories and will forever be in our thoughts and heart."

Image: Osama Sayam

Siwan Hayward, Director of Compliance and Policing at Transport for London (TfL), said: “Our roads are not a race track and Salem’s utterly unacceptable behaviour shows the devastating consequences of dangerous driving and speeding. Our thoughts are with Mr Sayam’s family and we urge everyone using our roads to please slow down, obey the speed limit and drive carefully – it could be the difference between life and death.


“We will continue working closely with the police to tackle speeding, ensure that our roads are as safe as possible and push for the strongest sentences for those who break the law.”

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