Two men have been sentenced to a combined 24 years and five months’ imprisonment for their roles in a fatal road crash that claimed the life of a UK-based Nigerian, Sylvester Abayomi, in Manchester.
The convicts, Uways Hussain, 20, and Usmon Mahmood, 23, were sentenced after being found guilty over the March 2026 collision on Kingsway, Manchester, which resulted in Abayomi’s death, reports The PUNCH.
It was learnt from a statement by the Greater Manchester Police, obtained yesterday, that Hussain was sentenced to 11 years and eight months, while Mahmood received a sentence of 12 years and nine months.
The statement disclosed that Mahmood’s conviction is believed to be one of the first cases in the United Kingdom where a passenger was found guilty of aiding and abetting, causing death by dangerous driving.
According to GMP, investigations revealed that the pair spent the night before the crash driving recklessly around South Manchester, filming themselves travelling at excessive speeds.
The police added that the vehicle involved in the incident belonged to Mahmood, who allowed Hussain to drive it throughout the night.
It added that mobile phone footage recovered by investigators showed the pair repeatedly driving at speeds exceeding 100mph on roads with 30mph speed limits.
GMP noted that the footage also showed them running red lights and weaving through traffic without regard for the safety of other road users.
The statement read in part, “The sentences follow a night of dangerous driving, during which the pair filmed themselves consistently travelling at speeds of over 100mph on 30mph roads.
“In several cases, the pair reached speeds over 130mph, and seconds before impact, they were recorded at 139mph. At one stage during the night, the pair stopped at a petrol station, where footage shows Mahmood inhaling from a balloon while seated in the passenger seat.
“Further footage recovered can see Mahmood in the passenger seat inhaling from a balloon while Hussain is driving over 100mph, who also appears to be inhaling from a balloon.”
GMP added that the fatal collision occurred at about 4:36 am in March 2026 at the junction of Green End Road and Kingsway.
Abayomi was reportedly on his way to work and entered the junction on a green traffic signal when he was struck by the speeding Volkswagen Golf driven by Hussain, who had driven through a red light.
“Sylvester was on his way to work and entered the junction on a green light, believing it was safe to proceed.
“He was then struck by a Volkswagen Golf driven by Hussain, which had travelled through a red light at extremely high speed,” the police added.
The statement added that emergency responders rushed to the scene following the crash, but Abayomi succumbed to his injuries, adding that immediately after the collision, the pair discussed plans to flee and conceal evidence.
GMP added that an automatic crash alert generated by an Apple Watch worn by Hussain captured conversations between the two men moments after the collision.
“During this alert, both men could be heard discussing plans to flee the scene and attempting to decide what evidence they needed to remove from the vehicle.
“They were also heard discussing reporting the vehicle as stolen. Shortly afterwards, they booked an Uber to escape from the scene,” the statement added.
GMP disclosed that officers responded swiftly and arrested both suspects within 12 minutes of receiving the first emergency report.
“We received our first report at 4:37am and within 12 minutes, the pair had been located, caught and arrested by officers.
“Vehicle data later recovered from the Volkswagen Golf confirmed that the car had reached a speed of 139mph in the moments before the fatal impact,” the police concluded.
