patheur

Hit-and-run driver hits man while heading home from bowling club

Sakege October 31, 2024

A hit-and-run driver who hit a pedestrian while walking home after a night out at his local bowling club has been given unpaid work.

Mohammed Rashid, 29, was driving his Kia Optima at 41mph in a 30mph zone in Stenhousemuir, Stirlingshire, when the incident occurred eight minutes after midnight on March 11, 2022.

Stirling Sheriff Court heard that James Risk, 36, a bricklayer, who was walking home from the bowling club with his brother and friends, fell off the pavement in front of Rashid’s car and was thrown into the air, landing and hitting his head on a brake.

One witness said he did not believe Rashid had had time to react.

Mr Risk died from head injuries at the scene.

Instead of stopping, Rashid accelerated up to 75 km/h, before driving to his home, two and a half miles away, picking up his wife and returning with her to the scene.

Sheriff Derek Hamilton sentenced Rashid to 300 hours of unpaid work plus a 27-month driving ban.

He said: “It cannot be said that this tragedy occurred for a momentary period.

“His average speed was significantly above the speed limit.

“He said he saw drunk people walking on the sidewalk, but took no action to slow down or distance himself from the potential danger those pedestrians could pose.

“The circumstances were tragically simple and sadly all too common.”

He added that Rashid’s behavior after the collision was “quite extraordinary.”

Sheriff Hamilton said Risk “was clearly part of a very close-knit family” and would be greatly missed.

He said: “I don’t think any sentence I can pass will in any way help Mr Risk’s family achieve any kind of closure.

“Nothing I can do is intended to be a reflection of what Mr. Risk’s life was worth.”

The court heard the tragedy was captured on CCTV at a local pub, the Crown Inn, on Main Street.

Prosecutor John Adams said Risk, a bricklayer, had spent the night bowling and drinking alcohol at the Burnhead Bowling Club in nearby Larbert, with his father, brother and friends.

He left the club around midnight with his brother and two friends.

Post-mortem toxicological tests showed that the amount of alcohol in his system would have exceeded the alcohol consumption limit for driving several times.

Mr Adams said: “Mr Risk entered the road in front of the car, causing Mr Rashid to hit him from behind with the front end close to the car.

“Mr. Risk was thrown into the air and landed on the road against the curb of the footpath.”

His brother and friends came to his aid, but found him unconscious and bleeding profusely from a fatal head injury.

Rashid told police: “I was driving on that road. I saw two people. “I think they were drunk… and the next thing was an explosion.”

Police collision investigators observed “very good lighting conditions” at the crash site and concluded that the tragedy was caused by the Kia’s excessive speed, Rashid’s failure to look far enough from his vehicle to detect hazards, and Mr. Risk walking on the roadway instead of the pavement.

Rashid, a customer adviser from Falkirk, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Veteran barrister Simon Hutchison, defending, said: “In all my years of practice I have never seen anyone so genuinely remorseful.”

Risk’s family said in a statement at the time: “James was the life of the party. He was loved by all who knew him and he lit up every room. He was a talented bricklayer and bowler and will be greatly missed by all.

“A light has gone out of our lives but it will be remembered in our hearts forever.”