A man who raced his car against a high-powered Mitsubishi Evolution before it crashed into a bus shelter killing a student, has been cleared of causing death by dangerous driving.
21-year-old Rebecca McManus, from Oldbury, who was studying literature, drama and creative writing at the University of East Anglia, was on her way to celebrate a hen party in Birmingham on May 31, 2014, when she was struck. Miss McManus died at the scene
Inderjit Singh, 31, was also found not guilty of causing serious injury to Miss McManus’ friend, 21 year old Harriet Barnsley, who spent four months in hospital after the incident.
Singh, a first class honours degree holder, had admitted to racing his BMW M3 sports car on the night of the crash, but had told the court he had withdrawn from the contest, which lasted only minutes. He had always maintained that he was not to blame for the death and injuries caused by his rival’s red Evolution swerving into a bus lane at 101mph.
Expert witness appeared to back his claims when PC Nigel Power, a road traffic collisions expert with West Midlands Police, said he had used CCTV images to calculate the Mitsubishi’s speed at 101mph and the BMW’s at 50mph moments before the smash.
Singh, 31, who told the jury he was ashamed of his actions, had admitted dangerous driving, accepts he was racing and was bailed until sentence.
Mitsubishi Evolution driver Sukvinder Mannan, 33, from Halesowen, has pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
