A woman accused of killing her friend in a fiery Lamborghini crash claims he triggered a ‘boost’ while tampering with the supercar’s controls.
Humaira Batool, 26, told jurors that her passenger, Mohammed Shaan Hussain, 20, pressed buttons moments before the Lamborghini Urus began to ‘surge’.
Batool denies causing death by dangerous driving following the crash on the M62 near Ripponden, West Yorkshire, on December 21, 2022.
The car was travelling at 120mph as it passed Stott Hall Farm – known as the ‘house in the middle of the motorway’ – before leaving the road, striking a barrier and overturning.
Motorists’ attempts to rescue Mr Hussain were hindered by fire and an explosion.
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.
Mr Hussain died in the wreckage.
He had hired the Lamborghini to collect a friend from HMP Leeds and picked up Batool from her Bradford home around 4am.
Humaira Batool (pictured arriving at court) denies causing death by 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
Prosecutor Christopher Dunn told Leeds Crown Court that Mr Hussain was initially driving the supercar before the pair swapped seats.
The court heard she 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 taking the driver’s seat from 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.
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
But a Lamborghini expert told the jury there were no buttons, levers or controls which could cause such acceleration.
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 are expected to be sent out today to consider their verdict following closing speeches from the prosecution and defence.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login