On Friday 17 March 2023 at around 12.30am, officers were called to a serious road traffic collision between a car and a pedestrian on Wilbraham Road, Manchester.

It was established that the driver of a Volkswagen Golf was travelling down Wilbraham Road towards Stretford before coming to stop at a set of traffic lights.

The driver – a man in his 20s – positioned his vehicle in the right lane which was a dedicated right turn.

As the lights changed to green the VW Golf accelerated past a vehicle in the left lane continuing down Wilbraham Road at speeds of over three times the posted 30mph speed limit.

The pedestrian, now confirmed as 52-year-old Jonathan Langston, was crossing the road between Morville and Wyverne Road was hit by the Golf, causing Mr Langston to be thrown 200-300 metres from the point of the collision due to the excessive speed the offending vehicle was travelling at.

Despite the best efforts of emergency services, sadly Jonathan was pronounced dead at the scene because of the injuries he sustained during the collision.

The driver of the Golf initially failed to stop at the scene but returned a short time later identifying himself as the driver to officers, he was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Yesterday (Wednesday 17 January 2024), Adeel Safdar (20/09/1995) was sentenced to 8 years in prison after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

Safdar was also disqualified from driving for 10 years and 4 months.