UMVA has learned that a reckless joyride spiraled into a fatal tragedy after two young men filmed themselves speeding at nearly 140 mph while inhaling nitrous oxide.
The duo, Uways Hussain, 20, and Usmon Mahmood, 23, turned a quiet Manchester street into a death‑trap, careening through a 30 mph zone at breakneck speed while recording their reckless antics on mobile phones.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the pair shouted encouragement to each other as Hussain clutched the wheel with one hand, their breath filled with the hiss of nitrous, and their eyes fixed on the camera rather than the road.
At 4:30 a.m. on March 9, the vehicle slammed into a waiting car at the Green End Road and Kingsway junction, crushing 50‑year‑old Sylvester Abayomi, who had entered the intersection on a green light.
Witnesses described the crash as a “blinding impact,” with the wreckage scattered across the road and the sound of shattering glass echoing through the early morning.
Police recovered harrowing CCTV footage and phone videos that captured the two men laughing, filming, and inhaling balloons of nitrous as they hurtled toward disaster.
Hussain, a law student who also worked at an airport, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, driving while uninsured and failing to provide a specimen, receiving an 11‑year‑and‑eight‑months sentence.
Mahmood, who claimed he tried to warn his friend, was convicted of aiding and abetting the same offences and was sentenced to 12 years and nine months.
The sentences are believed to be among the harshest ever handed down for a single‑fatality dangerous‑driving case, reflecting the “sustained, deliberate and escalating course of highly dangerous conduct” described by the presiding judge.
Family members of Sylvester, including his partner Denise, described him as a caring, gentle soul whose life was brutally stolen by a night of senseless thrill‑seeking.
Detective Sergeant Thomas Johnson warned that the men’s actions were “reckless, deliberate and ultimately devastating,” underscoring the dire consequences of treating the road as a playground.
