Moment boy racers plough into schoolgirl at high speed, killing her as she walks to school

14 September 2023, 16:07

This is the shocking moment two warring boy racers smashed into a teenage girl and killed her as she walked to school.

Omar Choudhury, 22, and Hamidur Rahman, 24, have been jailed for 14 years for causing the death of Alisha Goup, 16, in Oldham in February.

Choudhury and Rahman were racing through the streets of Oldham on February 23, recklessly overtaking other drivers after a public altercation involving a baseball bat. Choudhury was going 66mph at times, more than double the speed limit. At one point, he even reversed down a road.

Choudhury hit a car turning at a junction and lost control as he tried to overtake on the wrong side of the road.

He mounted the pavement in his BMW and hit Ms Goup as she was walking along a footpath, killing her. She was pronounced dead at the scene a short while later.

Choudhury continued to drive away, but his car was damaged and had to stop. Bystanders stopped him from getting away and he was arrested.

Warning: distressing footage

Footage shows dangerous racing through Oldham ahead of crash which killed teenager

He told police: "I was driving down the road and I was going too fast because I was trying to get away because these men were chasing me with a knife and now someone has punched me.

"Later replying after his arrest and treatment; “Have I killed someone?" Rahman was also arrested a few days later and charged.

Alisha's parents said: "She was everything to us and was the reason we woke up everyday and went to work to give us all a better life.

"We are a small, quiet, very private family, we did everything together as a family...

"Alisha was the most caring, selfless, sensible person you could meet. She was the glue that kept all the children together, she was always there for her parents and her siblings.

"The dreadful news of Alisha being killed, not crossing the road but whilst walking on the pavement is hard to take as we always ensured the children all knew about road safety from a young age, little did we know none of that would matter as she was killed in a place you are supposed to be safe, the pavement. How are we ever supposed to let our other children walk on the pavement, we don’t let them walk to school very often, we are always worried when they leave for school now.

“Our whole world fell apart. We all cried. A part of us died that day too and we all would give anything to have our Alisha back.”

After the sentencing result, Police Sergeant Louise Warhurst, from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: "On a day where our colleagues were actively fighting crime in Oldham due to Operation AVRO taking place, our road policing officers received the worst news and responded to this tragic incident.

"Alisha was walking along the footpath where she should have been safe. Tragically, Omar Choudhury and Hamidur Rahman were treating the public highway as their personal race track with no regard whatsoever for all other members of the public using the roads in Oldham that day.

Both these men drove dangerously at astonishing speeds because of a petty disagreement. They have demonstrated their arrogance by denying their responsibility throughout, each blaming the other, neither willing to accept responsibility for causing Alisha’s death. Thankfully, they were both found guilty.

"I would like to thank all the members of the public that came forward and assisted the police with our investigation. I would like to thank the family, friends and loved ones of Alisha, you have conducted yourself with dignity throughout this trial and our thoughts as a force remain with you all. We hope this investigation provides some form of closure through the justice served.

"I’d also like to remind those who think they can ignore the speed limit to think twice before using their car at high speeds. Your actions can devastate innocent members of the public in a split second and no one deserves to lose a loved one the way the family and friends of Alisha have done.

"Dangerous drivers will not be tolerated in our communities. Greater Manchester Police will deal with them robustly to keep people safe form illegal and irresponsible drivers.”