A disqualified driver who mounted a pavement in Birmingham, struck a husband and wife and then reversed over the fatally injured man before fleeing has been jailed for 11 years and three months. His widow, who now uses a wheelchair, told the court she cries for her husband every day.
Harinderpal Athwal, 41, of Tividale, was behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Corsa on Soho Road in Handsworth at around 11.15am on 16 December 2025 when the vehicle swerved into oncoming traffic and mounted the pavement without braking. Jatinder Verma, 54, and his wife Bandana, 47, had been walking hand in hand when they were struck. CCTV footage captured the moment Athwal’s car hit both victims, clipped a parked vehicle and then reversed — before he engaged forward drive and struck Jatinder a second time. Jatinder died at the scene.
Bandana Verma was thrown into the road and sustained a brain bleed, multiple fractures and life-changing injuries. She has not left her wheelchair since.
Rather than stopping to assist, Athwal abandoned his car on a nearby street, changed his clothing to disguise himself and walked away. A police sniffer dog helped locate the vehicle, and he was arrested less than 24 hours later. He told officers he had been unaware that anyone had died.
What compounded the gravity of the offending was that Athwal had been banned from driving just six days before the crash. He had been disqualified on 10 December 2025 following the accumulation of points for multiple previous offences, including drink-driving and failing to identify a driver. At the time of his arrest, he claimed not to have known about the ban. He was also uninsured and unlicensed.
At Birmingham Crown Court on 13 May, Athwal pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, causing death by driving while disqualified and without insurance, failing to stop and failing to report. Alongside the custodial sentence, he was banned from driving for 20 years from the date of his release and will be required to sit an extended retest before he can apply for a licence.
Bandana Verma attended the hearing in her wheelchair to deliver a victim impact statement. “I cry every day for my husband,” she said. “He was my emotional support and my strength. He managed our finances, made important decisions and kept our family stable. Without him, I feel completely lost. The driver’s actions have taken my husband from me, destroyed my health and shattered my children’s lives. Because of him I have lost my partner, my independence, my strength and my future as I knew it.”
Detective Sergeant Julie Lyman of West Midlands Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said that Athwal’s decision to flee had demonstrated a complete disregard for the lives he had devastated. “Athwal’s actions in driving away and refusing to help and report the incident were cruel and heartless,” she said. “No sentence will ever bring back the family’s loved one, but I hope it brings them some peace that Athwal will now serve time behind bars.”
