Parents say 'no greater pain' after two schoolgirls killed by speeding driver
Parents say there is 'no greater pain' after two schoolgirls were killed by speeding teen driver'.
Idrees Ibn-Haroo lost control of his mum's Vauxhall Corsa on a bend on the A6 in Cheshire, and hit into an oncoming car. He was 'showing off' and travelling at 'closing in on twice the speed limit' when the tragedy happened. Two teenagers Mariah Hussein, 16, and her 13-year-old cousin Kiara O'Lisa died in the incident. Mariah's sister Saira, 21, and a 14-year-old boy were hurt as was the driver of the Ford Fiesta they smashed into and her partner.
Ibn-Haroon, 19, of Stockport, was given a jail sentence after a court heard he ignored Saira and Mariah's pleas for him to to slow down The Manchester Evening News reports he asked them 'do you want to go, scary place?' before they begged him to 'chill out' and 'drive sensibly'.
Idrees Ibn-Haroo lost control of the car he was driving at 3am (MEN Media)Judge Steven Everett, the Recorder of Chester, heard statements on the impact Haroon's driving had on both the others involved in the crash, as well as the families of the girls who died. Lucy O'Lisa, mother of Kiara, said her daughter 'had her whole life in front of her and it has been taken away'. She went on: "You never expect your child to pass away before you. I have cried myself to sleep thinking about Kiara and how I wish it could have been me, not her. I sometimes think this was just a dream and that Kiara will come through the door at any moment."
She said since her daughter's death she had 'not been the same' and had felt depressed and suicidal. However, she said she knew she 'had to see things through see justice is done'. Rozenah Ahmed, the mother of Mariah, said: "I miss her beautiful eyes and soft voice. My daughter's life has been destroyed. There's no greater pain than burying your own child. Losing a child breaks your heart into pieces you didn't know existed. I love my children. But I lost my Mariah and I couldn't even say goodbye." Mariah's dad Ashfaq Hussein, meanwhile, said he had had 'fatherhood snatched from the grasp of my hands.'
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Fozia Mukhtar, the auntie of both Mariah and Kiara, said Mariah was a 'beautiful child' who had a 'huge love for life.' "She touched the lives of everyone she met," she said. She added Kiarawas a 'lovely girl' with a 'big sense of humour.' Both my nieces were popular and well-liked," she said. She added that since their deaths she had 'struggled to sleep or have any interest in life'. "I miss them so much," she said.
Mariah's sister Saira Hussein, who was sat in the front passenger seat of the car, said: "No amount of words can show the effect this has had on me. To lose my beautiful, precious sister. My everything. And my cousin Kiara. Neither of them deserved to die at such a young age and by such actions. I am constantly re-living the accident in my mind looking for ways I could have averted it."
Recorder Everett said: "It's one of the reactions someone may feel but it's really important she understands she was in no way at fault." I don't know if I will ever be the same again," she added as she revealed she was now being treated for PTSD. "It's possible I have been changed forever."
Mariah Hussein who was killed in the crash (STEVE ALLEN)
Idrees Ibn-Haroon killed Mariah Hussein, 16, and Kiara O'Lisa, 13 (STEVE ALLEN)The father of the 14-year-old boy said his son was 'holding hands with Kiara whilst the crash happened and realised she was dead whilst still holding her hand.' He said his son had 'suffered significantly in terms of his mental health' and now had PTSD. He said he 'almost become mute.' "He used to be bubbly and talkative but now he barely says a word," he said.
Prosecutor Brett Williamson appeared visibly moved as he read the statements. Amina Ahmad, cousin of both Mariah and Kiara, fought back tears as she read out her statement in person from the witness box. She said: "They weren't just my cousins. They were my babies, my sisters, my confidantes. Each day I wake up to the crushing reality of their absence and all I can do is talk to pictures or listen to videos of them speaking."
Police attended the tragedy where the teenagers were killed (MEN Media)After picking them up on the evening of March, 18 last year, the court heard Ibn-Haroon had taken the group of youngsters for a drive in the hills around Buxton. They were on their way back to Greater Manchester and were on the A6 Buxton Road in Disley, near Stockport, at around 3am when the fatal crash happened. Police experts calculated he was travelling at between 48mph and 57mph when he went around a left-hand bend and lost control. The back end of his car entered the opposite, Buxton-bound lane almost sideways on where a Ford Fiesta, being driven by 21-year-old student Tamera Everitt-Brown, who was travelling back to Sheffield from Manchester Airport with her partner Lewis Gee, smashed into it
The airbags in both cars activated and other passing motorists stopped to help as emergency services raced to the scene. Despite extensive resuscitation efforts tragically Mariah and Kiara both suffered multiple serious injuries and were declared dead at the scene. Neither Saira, the 14-year-old, Ms Everitt-Brown nor Mr Gee suffered life-threatening injuries. However, Ms Everitt-Brown was knocked unconscious and was taken to hospital after suffering a serious head wound which had to be stitched. The court heard she still had a memory blank for around ten hours before, during, and after the collision.
The wound has left a four-inch permanent scar. In her victim impact statement, she said she now shaved the part of her where the scar was as she had decided she 'didn't want to hide it away.' She said: "Part of me wants to say sorry to the families of the girls. Sorry for being the car that was in the way." "The collision is something I will never forget as long as I live," she added.
Defending Ibn-Haroon of Heald Green, Claire Ashcroft, said he was 'extremely, and genuinely remorseful' for his actions. "There's no more he can do. Nothing he says or no sentence can change what has happened," she said.
Idrees Ibn-Haroon was given 32 months jail at Chester Crown Court (STEVE ALLEN)The accused was jailed for two years and eight months after admitting two counts of causing death by careless driving. He will serve half before being released on licence. He was also banned from driving for three years from the point of his release. There were angry scenes in court, with shouts of 'child killer 'and 'do you think you've got away with it, yeah?' from the public gallery as he was led down to the cells.
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After the judge had left court there was then shouting and angry exchanges involving the victims' and defendant's families which saw police officers and court security have to step in.
Passing sentence, Recorder Everett said: "You were driving on a road far too fast, closing in on twice the speed limit. It wasn't a dry road. It was raining and the road was wet. It was greasy. It increases the seriousness of the position.You were warned on a number of occasions, it's impossible to say how many, to slow down. But like so many young men you were showing off how fast you could drive. And the almost inevitable happened."
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