Speeding, uninsured driver killed grandmother, 74, then gave false name

A speeding driver who knocked down and killed a 74-year-old Cleckheaton woman then gave a false name and details to police has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Junaid Tanweer had no insurance when he drove at close to double the speed limit when he knocked down and killed Elizabeth Bowers.

Mrs Bowers had been dropped off on Fitzwilliam Street, Huddersfield, on her way to a friendship group at the time of the collision on November 3, 2014.

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Tanweer, now 20, was aged 18 at the time of the incident and was driving at 55mph in a 30mph zone in a car which had been hired by his friend.

Leeds Crown Court heard Tanweer stopped after the collision but tried to flee the scene when paramedics arrived and he was told that Mrs Bowers had died.

Tanweer, of Spire Court, Marsh, Huddersfield, was stopped from running away by members of the public and handed over to police.

The teenager then gave a false name and details to police after his arrest. Tanweer pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing death while uninsured and perverting justice.

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Mrs Bowers was chairman of the Huddersfield and District Oddfellows and had been involved with the group for many years along with her husband Trevor.

Judge Tom Bayliss, QC, told the court how he had reading moving statements from Mrs Bowers’s family describing how proud they had been of her.

The grandmother had helped to £30,000 for her local church and, just before her death, had raised £5,000 for a meningitis charity.

The judge said: “She had achieved very much indeed in her life.” He added: “She had much to look forward to in life.”

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Mark Ford, for Tanweer, said his client had acted in panic after being told that Mrs Bowers had died. Mr Ford said the case should serve as a warning to other young men of the dangers and consequences of breaking the speed limit.