Reckless BMW driver who killed two women on hard shoulder of motorway after hitting 100mph in torrential rain is jailed for 15 years
A ‘careless’ driver who accelerated to 100mph before plowing his BMW into pedestrians, later claiming he had driven safely, has been jailed for 15 years.
Bilal Tahir lost control of his X5 SUV after hitting standing water on the M20 near Sevenoaks, West Kingsdown, in Kent, nearly four years ago.
He then hit three people: Dr Habiba Hajallie, who got out of her car after aquaplaning and was facing the wrong way on the hard shoulder, and fellow drivers Lisa Webber and Mark Heap, who came to her rescue.
Both Dr Hajallie and Ms Webber suffered horrific injuries and died at the scene in October 2022.
Mr Heap survived but suffered serious injuries.
Tahir, 29, stopped at the scene and told police he had driven with ‘due care and attention’. He said he wasn’t speeding.
However, officers from Kent Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit determined from vehicle and mobile phone data that he had been speeding continuously throughout the journey.
The driver had even reached speeds of more than 100 mph within a mile of the incident.
Bilal Tahir was driving at 160 kilometers per hour just before crashing into his BMW
He initially claimed he wasn’t speeding
Tahir was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison
The three victims were standing next to M20 before Tahir hit them. Two of them died. Footage taken moments before the collision.
Five seconds before the crash, Tahir was thought to have lost control after hitting standing water while traveling at 98 miles per hour, police said.
Tahir, of Welling, south-east London, admitted causing two deaths by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving earlier this year.
He was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison at the Old Bailey today.
He will also be banned from driving for 16 years.
Kent Police said it was the first time police had used GPS data in court for a collision case.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Jim Galbraith said: ‘The deaths of Dr Habiba Hajallie and Lisa Webber and the serious injury of Mark Heap are a tragedy caused by the actions of a dangerous driver.
‘Bilal Tahir was speeding recklessly that morning in terrible weather conditions where visibility was poor and rain had accumulated on the carriageway. He failed to recognize the significant risk he posed to other road users and ruined many lives as a result.
‘He would not accept responsibility for his actions until the weight of the evidence against him led him to confess his guilt.’
