Restaurant owner jailed for causing death of grandfather and hurting four others in crash near Bridgnorth
A man who caused the death of a well-loved grandfather and injured four others in a crash near Bridgnorth has been jailed for almost three years.
Rushon Ali, 45, was found guilty of causing the death of 64-year-old Sohan Lal by dangerous driving earlier this month.
The crash happened on the A454 near Bridgnorth on July 30, 2018, when Ali’s Volkswagen Sharan collided with Mr Lal’s Seat Ibiza.
The case:
Ali, who at the time was the owner of the Blue Ginger restaurant in Bridgnorth, was taking his employees to work.
His vehicle veered onto the wrong side of the road shortly before the crash.
He had admitted causing the death of Mr Lal by careless driving but denied causing his death by dangerous driving as well as the four other counts. A jury found him guilty on all five counts.
He was back at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday where Judge Anthony Lowe handed down an immediate sentence of two years and nine months.
For four other offences of causing serious injury to Abdul Majid, Mohammed Soaib, Syed Keyes and Nurul Amin by dangerous driving, he was given four concurrent sentences of one year.
It means the total time he will serve is two years and nine months.
Banned
He was also banned from driving for five years and he will have to take an extended driving test if he applies for another license.
Ali, of Lodge Road, West Bromwich, told the jury in his trial that he must have blacked out.
He said the day of the accident had been normal and he had not been tired.
He had picked his employees up at about 3.30pm for the hour-long drive to Bridgnorth.
The prosecution at the sentencing hearing was represented by Peter Grice while Ali was represented by Patrick Kelly.
Earlier this month Mr Lal’s family paid tribute to the beloved musician, who worked at precision engineering company Grainger and Worral and was driving home from work when the accident happened.
His daughter Sunita said: “My father had four grandchildren who were the apple of his eye and they adored him.
“He was coming up to retirement age and was looking forward to spending more time with his family.”
