A judge has warned a 26-year-old woman that she faces a “lengthy sentence” after she was convicted over a high-speed Lamborghini crash that killed her friend.
Humaira Batool was found guilty of dangerous driving in connection with the fatal collision on the M62 near Ripponden, West Yorkshire, on December 21, 2022.
During evidence on Wednesday, Batool told jurors that her passenger, 20-year-old Mohammed Shaan Hussain, had touched controls shortly before the £220,000 Lamborghini Urus suddenly began to “surge”.
But that account was challenged in court by a Lamborghini specialist, who said the supercar had no buttons, levers or controls capable of triggering such acceleration.
The court heard the Lamborghini was travelling at 120mph when it passed Stott Hall Farm, the well-known “house in the middle of the motorway” landmark on the M62.
Eight seconds later, it came to a standstill after leaving the carriageway, striking a barrier and overturning.
Motorists’ frantic attempts to rescue Mr Hussain were hindered by fire and a ‘very significant’ explosion. He died in the wreckage.
Batool, then aged 22, escaped and was found on a grass verge with serious injuries, including burns to around 10 per cent of her body and a shattered tibia.
Humaira Batool (pictured arriving at court) has been found guilty of dangerous driving following a fatal crash on the M62 near Ripponden, West Yorkshire, on December 21, 2022
Motorists’ attempts to rescue Mr Hussain (pictured) were hindered by fire and an explosion. The 20-year-old died in the fiery wreckage
Batool told witnesses the flames had melted the seatbelt, allowing her to escape.
She initially claimed Mr Hussain had been driving before later telling the court she crashed after he pressed buttons which caused the car to accelerate.
Judge Ray Singh granted Batool conditional bail until November 2, when she will be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court.
She must co-operate with the probation service for pre-sentence reports, surrender her passport and live at her home address in Bradford. She must not apply for travel documents and must report to a police station every Monday and Friday.
Judge Singh warned Batool: ‘As you appreciate, this is a case where prison is inevitable, and it will be of some length.
‘The fact that I have granted you bail, please don’t read anything in to that. Sentence that has to be imposed will be prison, it will simply be to how long.’
The court heard Mr Hussain hired the Lamborghini to collect a friend from HMP Leeds and picked up Batool from her Bradford home around 4am.
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Prosecutor Christopher Dunn told the court Mr Hussain initially drove the supercar before the pair swapped seats.
Footage shown to the jury showed Batool leaving the passenger seat and taking the driver’s seat from Mr Hussain (pictured). She initially claimed she awoke when the car rolled
He said Batool drove at more than twice the speed limit in dark, wet conditions and reached speeds of up to 143mph before the fatal crash.
Mr Dunn told the jury: ‘The defendant’s driving fell far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver.’
Batool initially told police she had been asleep in the passenger seat and awoke when the car rolled, the court heard.
But footage shown to the jury showed Batool leaving the passenger seat at traffic lights and swapping seats with Mr Hussain.
Mr Dunn said: ‘She kept entirely shtum about that until she was forced to acknowledge it when she was confronted with unequivocal evidence proving that she was the driver at the relevant time.’
Batool told jurors Mr Hussain had been handling controls inside the car and said: ‘Watch this, watch this’ before reaching towards the console and steering wheel.
She claimed the vehicle repeatedly ‘boosted’ as he ‘pressed the buttons multiple times’, causing her to panic and freeze.
Mr Dunn told the jury: ‘You may feel she embarked on a deeply distasteful attempt to put the blame for that grossly excessive speed upon the person who died as a result of her dangerous driving.’
Defence barrister Richard Dawson argued the collision may have been a genuine accident for which nobody was criminally responsible.
He said: ‘Sometimes, accidents happen – accidents in the true sense where no one is criminally to blame.’
Mr Dawson said high speed alone would not make a car suddenly leave the road and overturn, suggesting something else must have caused the sudden loss of control.
He said: ‘The prosecution have never been able to provide any crucial detail as to how or why the collision actually occurred. They don’t know.’
Mr Dawson said Batool did not claim to know exactly what Mr Hussain touched, only that the car surged afterwards.
Jurors later found Batool guilty of dangerous driving following closing speeches from the prosecution and defence.