Ashir Shahid, 20, mowed down pregnant healthcare assistant Ranju Joseph, 31, as she walked to work
Ashir Shahid(Image: Lancashire Police)
A heartless killer sang along to Shaggy’s ‘It wasn’t me’ as a baby battled for his life in hospital. Ashir Shahid, 20, struck down pregnant healthcare assistant Ranju Joseph, 31, as she was on her way to work on Station Road, Bamber Bridge on September 29 2024.
Prior to the collision, at 7.50pm, Shahid and his front seat passenger filmed mobile phone clips of them driving at speeds of up to 71mph through Preston and South Ribble, with the passenger hanging out of the front window.
Witnesses recounted seeing Mrs Joseph and two friends cautiously crossing the zebra crossing amidst the dark, wind and rain. However, when Shahid reached the crossing he did not slow down and catapulted Mrs Joseph into the air, and into the path of an oncoming car, Preston Crown Court heard.
As she lay critically injured in the road, Shahid and his passenger sped away from the scene and began taking steps to cover their tracks, reports Lancs Live.
Emma Kehoe, prosecuting, told the court how the pair drove to Farnworth, where they dropped the Toyota Prius in Fylde Street. The passenger tore the rear registration plate from the vehicle and Shahid removed his top, before returning with a sheet to cover the badly damaged windscreen of the car.
Flowers and a police collision notice at the scene of the crossing along Station Road in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire.
Mrs Joseph was rushed to Royal Preston Hospital suffering from severe head and spinal injuries. Her placenta was ruptured and medics took the decision to deliver her baby boy in an attempt to save his life.
Sadly, Olive, who was born at 24 weeks, only survived a few hours and died in the early hours of September 30. Mrs Joseph remained in intensive care for a number of weeks and had to learn to walk again after she was discharged from hospital, three months later.
Within 11 minutes of the collision, searches were made on Shahid’s mobile phone, reading ‘charge for hit and run human’. In Farnworth, he and and another man went to Frankie’s Chicken Shop, laughing and joking about what had taken place.
One was heard laughing as he said: “I’m basically with a murderer.”
After spotting the CCTV inside the shop, he asked the man behind the camera: “If anyone asks for this video, don’t give it them. This guy is a criminal.”
At 9.37pm, as the men waited in the chicken shop, an hour and a half after the collision on Station Road, Bamber Bridge, a Mercedes flat bed truck collected the Toyota.
The men were seen looking at their mobile phones, where news of the collision was beginning to emerge on social media.
One laughed: “That’s the woman. She’s in hospital.”
Later, a Snapchat recording was recovered of Shahid singing along to Shaggy’s ‘It wasn’t me’ as he and the other man drove away from Frankie’s Chicken Shop. He was taken to Accrington, where he stayed until October 2, when he was arrested at an address in Kirkham.
Shahid later pleaded guilty to causing the death of baby Olive by dangerous driving and causing serious injury to Mrs Joseph by dangerous driving. His front seat passenger was arrested in Clayton Brook on September 30.
The 17-year-old pleaded guilty to assisting an offender.
Three other people face charges of assisting an offender in relation to the incident.
Shahid and the 17-year-old passenger will be sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Friday (August 15). Both hung their heads in the dock as Ms Kehoe set out the case against them.