by The family of a jogger who was run over by a speeding driver has criticized his killer for taking the “dog’s way out” after he refused to return to the UK from Pakistan to face justice.
Rashid Ali, 30, was going twice the 20mph speed limit when his Range Rover Sport hit marketing executive Jack Patrick Ryan near Battersea Bridge in west London.
Mr Ryan, 29, suffered catastrophic injuries and died at the scene.
Ali, 30, failed to attend his Old Bailey trial and was convicted in his absence of causing death by dangerous driving.
On Friday, he also failed to attend court where he was sentenced to five years in prison.
In a subsequent statement, Mr Ryan’s family said: “The unfortunate sentence handed down today to Mr Ali is an insult not only to our family but to all families who have experienced the trauma of someone dying as a result of dangerous driving.
“The leniency of the sentence is made even worse by the fact that Ali avoided his original trial completely by fleeing to Pakistan and compounded our own grief and shame today by not showing up in court today for his own sentence.
“Ali showed zero empathy and compassion for our family and by taking the boatman’s way out at every step of the way, he avoided any accountability which caused more pain for everyone who loved Sean.”
Mr Ryan’s parents, Noel and Teresa Ryan, his sister Ciara Ryan and his partner Elizabeth Austin said their loss was “devastated”.
In a joint statement, they said: “We all carry the trauma of what happened to Jack with us every day of our lives. We live with a constant, unchangeable fear that the worst could happen at any moment – because the worst has happened to our family.
“As well as losing a son, brother and friend, a beautiful little girl will never be able to meet her father. He is greatly missed by all who knew Jack from all walks of his life and his memory will be cherished forever.”
They thanked those who supported them, and said: “Jack was the luckiest person in his life. He was a funny and kind man with a great love for life and a fierce love for his friends, his partner Liz, his family and his beloved Aston Villa.
“Jack was the perfect combination of a big kid at heart with a sensitivity at his core that made him love and care for those around him.”
Earlier, Ali’s barrister, James Scobie KC, read out an email in which the defendant expressed his “great stress” and “concern” and apologized to “everyone he let down”.
Ali wrote: “I feel very ashamed of myself and I have assassinated my own character.”
Despite promising to return to Britain to serve any prison sentence, the court was told on Friday that he remains in Pakistan.
In sentencing Khan to five years in prison, as well as a five-and-a-half-year driving ban, Judge Judy Khan said she had received a letter from the defendant.
“He said he intends to come back at some point to serve his sentence,” she said.
“I cannot accept that assertion.”
CCTV footage of the collision showed Mr Ryan was hit and thrown into the air before landing on the front of the Range Rover on Battersea Bridge on the evening of 13 January 2021.
The road surface was wet and the defendant was traveling at speeds between 39mph and 41mph in the 20mph zone, said prosecutor Philip Stott.
When Ali’s vehicle was about 50 meters away from the traffic lights they changed from green to amber, giving him time to stop, jurors heard.
After the collision, the defendant claimed Mr Ryan ran across the road in front of his car, leaving him no time to apply the brakes, the court heard.
However, Mr Stott said the Highway Code clearly stated that a driver was required to stop at the stop line with an amber light.
A driver could only continue if the amber light came on after the vehicle had crossed the stop line or if pulling up could cause an accident.
Mr Stott said: “No other vehicle was traveling so close behind Mr Ali’s car that it could have caused an accident if he had stopped at the amber light in the normal way.
“He had plenty of time to stop safely and, therefore, it was his duty to do so in accordance with the rules of the road.
“Instead, the defendant broke those rules and, in doing so, caused Mr. Ryan’s death.”
Following the verdict, Joe Dodman of law firm HCC said: “Jack’s family have shown incredible strength and dignity in the face of immense grief and trauma.
“Not only have they lost a very special person in everyone’s life but they have to try to move on knowing that the offender has been given a much lesser sentence than most people would naturally expect.
“The family is hurt even more because he was not present to face them in court at the trial or today at the sentencing.
“Those convicted of the serious criminal offense of causing death by dangerous driving should have to face the consequences of their own actions and be forced to face their multiple victims.”
