A taxi driver who killed a seven-year-boy in a horror crash after the youngster wandered into a road after being left alone at home by his mother has been jailed.
Mohsin Hussain, 32, who admitted causing Malakye Hall’s death while driving at almost twice the speed limit, was given nine years and nine months in jail on Thursday.
Bradford Crown Court heard the father-of-three’s taxi license had expired a month before the crash, but he’d continued to operate and took roughly 70 further fares.
And just before the collision on August 11, 2020, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, dashcam footage from Hussain’s black Toyota Auris showed him speeding several times in the city.
Tragic Malakye Hall, 7, was left alone at a house in Bradford, West Yorkshire on the night he was killed. His mother locked him inside the house – without gas or electricity – so she could see her partner
Moshin Hussain, 32, was jailed for nine years and nine months after he admitted smoking cannabis on the night he ploughed into Malakye while driving his taxi cab at high speed
The shocking video also showed him going around a roundabout the wrong way, running red lights and undertaking other motorists.
The court heard Malakye had got out of his home while his mother, Wendy Hall, 33, who was jailed last month for three years for neglect, was visiting a partner.
And at 10pm, Hussain struck Malakye on Manchester Road at the junction with St Stephens Road, where he suffered fatal head injuries and died in hospital.
Police later found Hussain was travelling 53mph or 54mph when he hit the boy in a 30mph zone and had more than double the limit for cannabis in his system.
At the sentencing yesterday, Malakye’s sisters gave a heartbreaking victim impact statement to the court, saying Hussain had ‘robbed’ the boy of his future.
She said: ‘Malakye was the cheeky playmate as our youngest sibling, he was loved and liked by all those who knew him well.
‘We will miss watching him turn into the man he would have become.
‘We have been robbed of our childhood with him but also robbed of a future life as adult siblings with Malakye.
‘The actions that led to the death of our brother Malakye have affected our lives immensely. His death was a smack in the face, a real shock to us all.
‘It has completely changed our lives in terms of where we live, our schooling, the loss of neighbours and friends we grew up with and our overall confidence in trusting people or environments we find ourselves in.
‘The sentence of losing Malakye will never end, it is a life sentence for us. We will have to live the rest of our lives without Malakye, our brother who was tragically taken from us far too soon.’
Wendy Hall, 33, was jailed for neglect after abandoning her son Malakye in a dark and locked house in Bradford, West Yorkshire, with no gas or electricity before heading out to see her partner
Police who arrived at the crash scene found the boy had the damaged phone on him – and detectives went to the house which was in darkness with the door open
During the hearing yesterday, prosecutor Abigail Langford conceded that Malakye appeared to have run into the carriageway before the fatal incident.
But she said the judge had to take account of Hussain’s dangerous driving over the previous 2.6 miles before the collision.
The court heard that Hussain was dealt with for a speeding offence just six months before the collision
However, he had remained at the scene of the incident and had subsequently expressed genuine remorse.
His barrister Oliver Jarvis said Hussain had paid some money towards Malakye’s funeral and had said he was sorry during an interview for a pre-sentence report.
Mr Jarvis said there was no justification for the way his client had been driving that night and he accepted that his driving had been impaired through drugs.
Sentencing Hussain, Judge Jonathan Rose said he had been driving at speed and without regard for other road users, including pedestrians, before he killed the little boy.
He said: ‘You were prepared to drive on public roads when you knew, or ought to have known, that your ability to drive was significantly impaired.’
Judge Rose said Hussain had been driving dangerously since the moment he left his home and impatience with other road users had led to Malakye’s death.
He accepted that since the fatal collision Hussain, of Manningham, Bradford, had been volunteering and had been involved in educating others on road safety.
Hussain was banned from driving for a total of ten years and ten months and he must also take an extended re-test at the end of that disqualification period.
Speaking after the court hearing, Detective Inspector Paul Conroy, of the Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: ‘Malakye’s death has had a profound effect on his family and everyone who knew him.
‘They have had to wait three years for this to come to a conclusion and I thank them for their patience.
‘I know that today’s sentence will never bring Malakye back but I hope that it can give them some comfort and justice in knowing that the man responsible for driving the car that hit Malakye has been jailed.’