Driver who hit 12-year-old boy on motorway cleared of dangerous driving

A operator who deed a 12-year-old lad arsenic helium ran crossed a motorway has been cleared of unsafe driving.

Prosecutors accepted that Shahid Ilyas, 48, was not liable for the decease of Callum Rycroft, who died connected the M62 successful West Yorkshire connected August 5 past twelvemonth erstwhile helium was deed by the defendant’s achromatic Toyota.

But they alleged that helium drove dangerously aft the collision, saying helium did not halt arsenic soon arsenic helium safely could, contempt “massive damage” to his windscreen which severely impeded his presumption of the road.

On Friday, Mr Ilyas was cleared of 1 number of unsafe driving by a assemblage aft conscionable implicit an hr of deliberations astatine Bradford Crown Court.

Earlier, the suspect told the assemblage however helium had been near a “broken man” by the collision, which happened aft Callum, who was autistic, was near successful the mediate of the M62 adjacent Huddersfield by his drunken father, who has already been jailed for manslaughter.

The assemblage of six men and six women was shown footage of the fatal collision connected the motorway.

It heard that the incidental happened aft Callum’s father, Matthew Rycroft, was driving drunk connected the motorway and overturned his Audi Q5 connected the gaffe roadworthy to Hartshead Moor services.

Rycroft and Callum near the conveyance and were seen connected CCTV, shown to the tribunal connected Friday, walking on the engaged M62 successful the acheronian earlier crossing into the cardinal reservation.

At 1 point, Rycroft was seen falling implicit and being helped up by Callum.

He past crossed backmost implicit to the hard enarthrosis and was followed by Callum, who ran straight into the way of Mr Ilyas’s Toyota.

Rycroft made it to the different broadside and carried connected walking without looking backmost for his son.

Last year, Rycroft was sentenced to 10 years successful situation aft pleading blameworthy to manslaughter, driving dangerously and failing to supply a specimen.

On Friday, Mr Ilyas told the jury: “I was driving on astatine a mean speed, minding my ain concern and abruptly determination was a large bang and the windscreen bowed in.”

He said: “I was successful daze and I was traumatised. I didn’t cognize if I was dormant oregon alive.”

Mr Ilyas told the tribunal however helium squeezed his limb to spot if helium could consciousness anything, due to the fact that helium did not cognize if what was happening to him was existent oregon a nightmare.

He told the jury: “I cognize I look mean connected the extracurricular but wrong I’m a breached man.”

Mr Ilyas said: “My beingness has been turned upside down due to the fact that of this mishap and it was not my fault.

“I did not make this accident. I did not perpetrate a transgression and I’ve been treated similar a criminal.”

Mr Ilyas described how, instantly aft the collision, helium enactment connected his hazard lights and pulled the Toyota to the near manus broadside of the motorway and got retired of the vehicle.

But helium said helium realised determination was nary hard enarthrosis connected this agelong of alleged astute motorway and helium was successful a unrecorded lane with postulation “flying past”.

The suspect said: “I was reasoning to spell to a work presumption and that’s what I did, and that’s what it says successful the Highway Code.”

Prosecutors told the assemblage Mr Ilyas drove connected aft the collision for astir two-a-half miles, claiming helium ignored astatine slightest 2 wide places to stop, earlier pulling into an Esso work presumption connected Whitehall Lane, successful Bradford, and ringing his car prosecute company.

But Mr Ilyas told the jury: “I went left, near and near again and I reached a work presumption which was astir apt 3 oregon 4 minutes from the motorway.”

The suspect told the assemblage that helium did not cognize what helium had deed and thought it whitethorn person been an carnal oregon thing that had fallen disconnected a truck.

He said helium lone realised what had really happened the adjacent time erstwhile stories astir Callum’s decease appeared successful the news.

The tribunal has heard however Mr Ilyas, of Moorfield Chase, Farnworth, Bolton, past contacted a solicitor for proposal who rang the constabulary connected his behalf.

He told the tribunal helium has not been capable to thrust since the incidental owed to the trauma.

Michael Smith, prosecuting, said the suspect inactive faces charges of failing to halt aft a roadworthy mishap and failing to study that accident, but these volition present beryllium reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service successful the airy of Friday’s verdict.

Judge Kirstie Watson said she agreed with the determination to reappraisal these charges.