Dangerous driver who killed pregnant mum in crash at 123mph is jailed
A man who filmed himself speeding at 123mph before crashing into a car on the hard shoulder and killing a pregnant mum-of-two has been jailed.
Adil Iqbal weaved between motorway traffic in his dad’s BMW on the M66 in Bury, Greater Manchester, before the fatal collision in May this year.
The 22-year-old was driving with one hand and holding his phone with the other to record as he tailgated, undertook other vehicles and swerved across lanes.
Frankie Jules-Hough, 38, had just stopped on the hard-shoulder with a tyre puncture to make a phone call at around 3.10pm on May 13.
Driving a BMW 140i, Iqbal undertook a motorbike then swerved, over compensated and hit a crash barrier before spinning around and ploughing into Ms Jules-Hough’s Skoda Fabia at an estimated 92mph.
She suffered unsurvivable brain injuries and died in hospital two days later surrounded by her family.
Ms Jules-Hough was 17 weeks pregnant with her first daughter, who also died with her.
Iqbal, from Accrington, Lancashire, admitted to causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to 12 years in prison today at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester.
He also pleaded guilty to causing serious injury to her son Thomas Spencer, nine, and nephew Tobias WElby, aged four, who were both left in a coma after the crash.
They spent weeks in intensive care having suffered serious brain injuries and their long-term outcomes remain uncertain, the court heard.
Her other son Rocky, two, was also travelling in the car at the time.
Ms Jules-Hough was on the phone to Thomas’s father when the crash happened who, along with other family, dashed to the scene of the mangled car wreck, as emergency services and air ambulances descended.
Dashcam footage and footage from Iqbal’s phone was shown to the court, watched by relatives of Ms Jules-Hough, some of whom gave heart-rending victim impact statements before the defendant was jailed.
Passing sentence, Judge Maurice Greene told him: ‘She was killed as a result of the most indescribable reckless driving by you Adil Iqbal, leading to the devastation of a family.’
‘Words cannot express what her family and friends are going through now,’ said her friend Debbie Wright in a GoFundMe appeal.
‘Not to mention her poor boys who now have to grow up without their mummy and sister they never got to meet.’
‘This is devastating. Frankie touched the lives of so many with her beautiful kind soul. Heaven has gained a true angel.’
More than £50,000 was donated to the fundraiser, which was set up to support the family.
Ms Jules-Hough’s family said on the page: ‘Thank you so much for the beautiful comments and all your kind donations.
‘We are overwhelmed with the support, we have no words for your kindness at this time.
‘Our page will go towards the families effected and our boys’ recovery.
‘We can hopefully give Tommy, Tobias and Rocky life-changing experiences when they recover and help build back our family in memory of our angel Frankie.’
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.