Woman ‘lucky to be alive’ after high-speed Beeston smash as powerful VW Golf R ploughed into her Citroen

Driver Mohammed Gulastan – who had only just finished a driving ban – was estimated to have been travelling above 100mph minutes before he smashed into the Citroen DS3 on the evening of June 3 last year as it exited a junction on Dewsbury Road.

The female driver suffered a fractured spine, and her passengers endured cuts, bruising with one suffering a bleed to the brain.

Leeds Crown Court heard that passengers had also suffered psychological damage with flashbacks. Prosecutor Eddison Flint said: “The driver feels lucky to be alive, along with her friends.”

The judge, the Recorder of Leeds, Guy Kearl KC agreed. He said: “It’s astonishing that the injuries were not worse. All of the occupants are fortunate to survive. This was not a momentary lapse or a short-lived course of driving. It was persistent.”

Gulastan – along with a male passenger – travelled towards Leeds in an “erratic” manner. They drove along Bradford Road up to 90mph and was even flashed by police warning him to slow down. His terrified passenger also told him to ease up. But he then pushed it above 100mph on the A653 near Tingley, heading towards Beeston.

The court head that he was well above the 40mph limit along Dewsbury Road as the Citroen pulled out. The emergency services were called and the road was closed off for more than 11 hours. The cars came to rest outside the Shell garage, opposite Colwyn Road.

Analysis found the accelerator pedal on the Golf was “fully depressed” half a second before impact, the steering wheel was turned 14 degrees consistent with a last-second attempt to avoid the collision, and it was travelling at 72mph at the moment of impact.

Gulastan, of Hollinroyd Road, Dewsbury, initially gave police his brother’s name, but soon confessed. The 24-year-old did not have permission to drive the white Golf which belonged to his father.

He admitted two counts of causing serious injury through dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and having no insurance. He had only recently received his licence back following a ban for amassing 12 points.

Mitigating, Peter Hampton, said that other than his previous driving ban, he has no convictions and is educated to degree level. He said: “He is not a young man without intelligence or empathy. He knows what he has done to these people and to his own family. He has let then down badly.”

Jailing him for two years and banning him from driving for four years, Recorder Kearl said: “This is not your first driving offence, you have been previously been disqualified from driving. This however, is in a different league.

“As a result of the high speed you were unable to control the car. There was considerable amount of damage caused to both vehicles. It was a shocking head-on collision.

“I accept there is genuine remorse. You have a good job, you are graduate. Your intelligence ought to have informed you that what you were doing was wrong and that you had no excuse.

“This is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified. It’s unavoidable.”