A SPEEDING driver who knocked down and killed a “much-loved” mother-of-five in Bradford city centre has been jailed for more than five years.

Liaquat Ali, 31, was behind the wheel of a VW Golf that hit 54 year-old Kathleen Farman as she crossed Hall Ings outside The Broadway shopping centre just before 2pm on September 20 last year.

Prosecutor Heather Gilmore told Bradford Crown Court that Ali had been driving around the city with his nephew “passing time” before picking his children up from school.

She said that Craig Farman, Mrs Farman’s son, was crossing the road heading towards the job centre when she tried to follow after him.

He said he turned around after hearing a “loud thud” to see that his mother had been hit by a car.

The court heard that Ian Roberts was driving a lorry that Ali was in the process of overtaking at the time of the crash.

He said of the Golf: “It just screamed past me. There was no way the car was doing 30mph.”

One witness said they saw Mrs Farman being “thrown up into the air” on impact, while driver Peter Horsman described Ali as “driving like an idiot.”

Mrs Farman was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics at 2.21pm, and Ali was arrested, tearfully telling police: “I didn’t see her. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I couldn’t avoid her, she just stepped out.”

Miss Gilmore said that the Golf had started braking about 20 metres prior to the collision, but that in the run-up to the crash, it had been doing between 47.4mph and 49.3mph.

She said: “Travelling at that speed, the defendant was unable to stop and avoid the collision.”

In his police interview, Ali was said to have told officers that the lights were green in his favour and he “couldn’t do nowt to stop.”

He said: “Obviously I’m on a busy road. I’m not going to be looking left and right because I’m on a main road.”

In a brief victim impact statement, Mrs Farman’s family said she also had eight grandchildren that she “adored”.

It read: “She was taken from us far too early. We wish this was a dream, but it is a nightmare for us all. She will always be in our thoughts, and we will always love her.”

Ali, of Thryberg Street, Barkerend, Bradford, pleaded guilty to a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

Andrew Dallas, defending, said a psychological report had found that Ali had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder since the crash, which he referred to as “survivor’s guilt.”

He said: “He (Ali) is devastated at the effects his actions have had. He wants to express the deepest regret for what he did.”

Mr Dallas said that Ali, a self-employed electrician and father-of-three, had not been driving at “grossly excessive speed”, and added that there was no evidence of a prolonged period of dangerous driving in the run-up to the crash.

Stating that the lorry had been in the line of sight of both the victim and Ali at the time of the crash, he said: “This was a single ill-advised dangerous manoeuvre.”

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, said he was satisfied that despite Mrs Farman not activating the crossing sign, she had tried to cross the road because she felt it was safe to do so.

He told Ali: “Had you been driving at a speed under the speed limit, or even a small margin above it, you could have stopped.”

Commenting on the area of Hall Ings where the crash took place, Judge Durham Hall said: “It is sadly well-known that this particular stretch is treated by some drivers with complete indifference to the risk of others.

“It has become a daily routine to witness that there is a problem. Selfish drivers see this stretch as an opportunity to accelerate. This death was, sadly, inevitable, sooner rather than later.”

Judge Durham Hall said the effect of Mrs Farman’s death on her family had been “crushing.”

He told Ali: “You chose, for no reason, to speed for your own purposes. This lady died as a result of your clear culpability. It was your speed that killed her. The harm could not be worse.”

Ali was jailed for a total of 62 months, and will be banned from driving for five years on his release from prison.

Speaking after the sentencing, Sergeant Ann Drury, of the West Yorkshire Police Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: “I hope that this sentence serves as a warning to others that speed limits and indeed all the rules of the road are there to ensure the safety of all road users.

“A family have had a dear and much-loved lady taken from them and they have shown great dignity throughout the whole investigation.”