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Zhahid Masood, from Medway, jailed for causing death of teenager Charlotte Smoker, from Bishops Stortford, on the M25

Zahid Masood was jailed for four years and nine months
Zahid Masood was jailed for four years and nine months

Justice finally caught up with an illegal immigrant who killed a young air stewardess in an horrific motorway smash 10 years ago.

Zhahid Masood had been using his mobile phone when he crashed into a stationary car, causing the death of the teenager Charlotte Smoker.

Masood denied causing death by dangerous driving, but was convicted by a jury in just 40 minutes.

He was jailed for four years for the main offence plus a further nine months for perverting the course of justice, which he admitted. He was banned from driving for seven years.

A judge told Masood, of Heron Way, Lower Stoke: “You probably thought you had got away with it.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard Miss Smoker’s Fiat Cinquecento had earlier hit the barrier of the central reservation and was jutting out into the fast lane.

Other traffic managed to avoid the car before distracted Masood, who only had a provisional driving licence to drive in this country, smashed into it in his Ford Focus.

Allister Walker, prosecuting, said Masood, 47, was a Pakistani national at the time, calling himself Ahmed Mukhtar.

He said: “In fact, the defendant was an illegal entrant into the United Kingdom. After the collision he left the United Kingdom.

“He told police he returned after marrying his Romanian partner in 2007. He returned as Zahid Masood, his true identity.”

He was arrested in November last year.

Charlotte Smoker, who was killed on the M25 in 2003
Charlotte Smoker, who was killed on the M25 in 2003

Miss Smoker, a 19-year-old air hostess, from Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, was driving from Guildford, Surrey, to Stansted on the M25, on November 3, 2003, when she ended up across the central reservation near junction four at Shoreham.

Judge Philip Statman told Masood: “You had no right to be on the motorway unsupervised as inevitably you were.

“She (Charlotte) phoned for help and put on her hazard warning lights and it must have been a frightening experience for her alone in that vehicle stranded in the way I have described.

“Other motorists managed to avoid colliding with her vehicle. You were travelling at a speed of about 70mph in the fast lane. According to expert evidence I heard you would have been able to see the Fiat from a distance of something like 350 metres.

“The telling feature is that you were distracted because you were using a mobile phone to make a business call. It is noteworthy that the phone had been used on a number of occasions during the course of the journey.

After the crash, Masood was allowed to go home and recover, but he then gave false information about his identity and fled the UK. At the time he did not have a full driving licence or insurance.

He returned in 2004 and again in 2007, using his true identity. He was spotted by a vigilant police officer who was involved in the original investigation.

Judge Statman said: “You had no right to be on the motorway unsupervised as inevitably you were. You will appreciate the devastating consequences of your actions on this particular day.

“You committed an extremely serious offence of perverting the course of justice. You made absolutely no effort on your return to the United Kingdom to surrender to the authorities. You probably thought you had got away with it.”

Ian Henderson, defending, said Masood had two young children and he knew his actions would have consequences for them.

He added: “He has sought to find a way to acknowledge the pain it would have caused the Smoker family. It is difficult to find words. All I will say is there has been genuine understanding and remorse.”

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