A hit-and-run driver has been jailed for 12 years after a high-speed head-on collision in East London killed a 20-year-old man and seriously injured two teenagers. Blerim Manallari, 24, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday, October 1, after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
Manallari was driving a Mercedes at around 62mph on a 20mph road in Walthamstow on March 24, 2024, when he attempted to overtake by crossing into oncoming traffic and struck a Volkswagen Polo head-on. The driver of the Polo, Abdul Hasseeb Akram, 20, died from his injuries in April 2024, the month after the crash.
Crash details and injuries
The collision occurred on Hoe Street, where the Polo was carrying four people. Prosecutor Sam Barker told the court that passengers in the Polo reported hearing Akram shout to the others that a car was coming and that they should say a short prayer, which they did. Barker said: “There was then a forceful head-on collision which caused the Polo to be shunted backwards.”
Two passengers in the Polo were seriously injured. A 13-year-old relative suffered serious leg fractures, while a 14-year-old suffered a skull fracture, a broken neck, rib fractures, lung injuries, a fractured wrist, a fractured femur, and nerve damage to his vocal cords.
Manallari, who had no driving license, fled the scene after the crash. He was arrested in April 2024 following a manhunt, with police identifying him through DNA left in the wreckage of the Mercedes.
Court proceedings and apology
During sentencing, Judge Angela Rafferty KC told Manallari: “At that speed and in that position you didn’t give the victims much of a chance at all, seatbelts or not.” The judge noted the head-on nature of the collision, the speed limit, and the fact that Manallari was on the wrong side of the road.
Manallari, who appeared in court wearing a white t-shirt and a grey hoodie, showed no emotion as he was sentenced. He had been with friends at a café before the crash and was given the keys to the Mercedes by its owner, his friend, to buy hashish. A female passenger in his car described his driving as “very fast and erratic,” and she reported being very scared and screaming at him to slow down.
In a statement read out in court, the family of Abdul Hasseeb Akram said: “All we want to say is that as a family, we forgive him as Allah loves the one that forgives.” For the defence, Hugh French read a letter of remorse from Manallari, which said: “I am writing to express my deepest sorrow and to take full responsibility for the death I caused by my driving. I know that no words can undo what happened or lessen the pain of losing someone you love.”
Sentencing and disqualification
Manallari received concurrent sentences of two years for each of two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, to run alongside the 12-year term. He also pleaded guilty to failing to stop after a road accident, driving otherwise than in accordance with a license, and using a motor vehicle without third-party insurance, receiving one-month concurrent sentences for each.
He was disqualified from driving for 16 years and will have to pass an extended driving test if he wishes to drive again. Detective Constable Adam Lewis, who led the Metropolitan Police investigation, said: “This is a tragic case and my thoughts remain with Abdul's family and those who survived the collision. They have shown incredible resilience under horrific circumstances. This was another needless tragedy, caused by Manallari’s dangerous decision to overtake another vehicle at over three times the speed limit, in a vehicle he was not licenced, insured or experienced to drive. He lacked the courage to remain at the scene of the collision and was only identified through DNA left in the wreckage of the Mercedes. It took a manhunt operation for Manallari to be located and arrested.”
