Two men jailed over deaths of mother and daughter in Leeds crash

Two men have been jailed for causing the deaths of a mother and her four-year-old daughter, who were struck by a car as they walked to nursery in Leeds in January 2023.

Hardeep Bhachu, 29, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and Jasskamal Riyat, 37, to 16 years at Leeds Crown Court on Monday. Bhachu admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving; Riyat was convicted by a jury after denying that he had been racing Bhachu.

The court heard that the men, who did not know each other, accelerated away from traffic lights on Scott Hall Road. Prosecutors said Riyat’s BMW reached speeds of up to 89mph in a 40mph zone before Bhachu lost control of his Audi, mounted the pavement and hit Justyna Hulboj, 27, and her daughter Lena Czepczor.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Singh said the road was “not a race track” and that competitive driving at extreme speed had caused irreversible consequences. He said Hulboj and Lena had been “simply walking to school”.

Hulboj’s fiancé, Dominik Czepczor, told the court in a statement: “My whole world collapsed in one second.” He said he was left with memories of the family they had hoped to build and “a constant fight for the next day”.