‘I still miss my son. I think about him every day’: Mum of boy, 5, speaks after driver jailed over his death
The mother of a five-year-old boy who died following a collision has provided a powerful statement to the court as the driver responsible for her son’s death was jailed today.
Colin Agyei, aged 32, of Pear Tree Grove, Knottingley, was found guilty following a trial at Leeds Crown Court last month of causing the death of Abdullah Ebrahim by dangerous driving.
He appeared before the court again today (Thursday) where he was sentenced to six years in prison.
The collision happened on July 7, 2022 on Back Camberley Street in Leeds, a narrow back street that is not generally used by vehicles.
Agyei drove his Nissan Note past a no entry sign and collided with Abdullah as he ran across the road.
The five-year-old sadly died in hospital shortly afterwards.
Abdullah’s mother Salma Begum, said: ““What I cannot understand, and what I will never forget, is that he failed to stop and left my child there.
"I will never forget the image of Abdullah lying on the floor on his own. That image has stayed with me for four years. It is something I carry every single day.”
In a further extract from her victim personal statement, which was read in court, Ms Begum said: “I attended the trial and had to sit and listen to the defendant say that he did not see my son.
"I heard his account change several times, and I felt that he was not telling the truth about what happened.”
The jury took only around 40 minutes to find him guilty on all counts.
“For me and my family, however, the pain did not end with that verdict,” she said.
"We have waited four years for justice. During that time, I have had to go through this awful ordeal again and again.
"Having to attend court, hear the evidence and relive the circumstances of Abdullah’s death has caused me enormous emotional suffering.”
She asked the court to remember that behind the evidence, the charges and the verdict is a family who has lost someone they love.
“Four years have passed, but my grief has not passed. I still miss my son. I still think about him every day,” she added.
Detective Sergeant Steve Suggitt, of West Yorkshire Police’s Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: “This was a truly tragic incident that resulted in the death of a young boy and robbed a family of a lifetime of shared memories.
“This collision was completely avoidable had Agyei complied with the no entry sign and not driven into Back Camberley Street. Young Abdullah would not have been expecting a vehicle to be driving up the road and did not have time to react.
“While we estimate that Agyei was driving at a relatively low speed of around 15mph, during our investigation we thoroughly tested the back street and found that because of the nature of the road you cannot drive safely on it at speeds of over 7mph.
“Agyei admitted a lesser careless driving offence but was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.
"While he has been given a custodial sentence, I know that no sentence can ever in any way equate to the lifetime of grief that Abdullah’s family face.”