The wreckage of Bashir’s BMW after the crash near Wittering (Picture: CambridgeshireLive/BPM)
A father who killed another driver in an incredibly dangerous manouevre trying to overtake two cars and a lorry also left his own son in a wheelchair.
Asim Bashir, 48, had his wife and four children in the car with him when he attempted the overtake near Peterborough.
His wife, 41, was carrying their four-year-old son on her knee without a seatbelt, and the child was so badly hurt that he can no longer walk.
Trying to get in front of the lorry, Bashir first overtook an Audi and forced his way between it and a Range Rover in front.
He then overtook the Range Rover, and when passing the lorry collided head-on with a red Ford Fiesta going in the opposite direction on the A47 near Wittering.
The Fiesta was thrown into the air, through a tree line and down an embankment before landing in a field and exploding into flames, killing driver Christopher Hunt, 33, at the scene.
Christopher Hunt died at the scene after his Ford Fiesta was thrown into the air (Picture: BPM)
Bashir, his wife, and their 10-year-old who was in a car seat in the back also suffered serious injuries.
His other children, a 12-year-old boy in the front seat and baby son aged six months in a car seat in the back, escaped with only minor injuries when the grey BMW they were travelling in span back and hit the front of the Range Rover.
Passers-by rushed to help the family, who managed to leave the vehicle, but Bashir needed to be cut free from the wreckage by firefighters.
They had been travelling from the family home in South Woodford, London, to Bradford on October 8, 2021 when the crash happened shortly after 8pm.
Bashir was found guilty of three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and one count of causing death by dangerous driving at Cambridge Crown Court after a seven day trial last month.
Yesterday Bashir, of High View Road, was jailed for 12 years and banned from driving for 14.
DC Kevin Drury said: ‘This was a tragic case, where Bashir has killed an innocent man going about his business, as well as maiming members of his own family and leaving them incredibly traumatised.
‘Bashir’s driving was incredibly dangerous as well as reckless – only he will know why he decided to put his loved ones and other road users in danger that night.
‘His decision to drive the way he did, knowing he had five additional passengers in his vehicle, some of whom were unrestrained, was incredibly dangerous and was a major factor in them sustaining their serious, life-changing injuries.
‘I am glad Bashir has faced justice and this case is poignant reminder that dangerous driving can cost and ruin lives.’
After Bashir was sentenced, the family of Christopher Hunt said: ‘The last two years have been very stressful and traumatic for us, but we have finally got justice for Chris. He is greatly missed by the whole family.’
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