A cowardly driver who left his female passenger lying seriously injured at the scene of a horror crash in Bradford has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Zamir Shah, 27, who had a previous conviction for dangerous driving dating back to 2013, had been inhaling so-called “laughing gas” (nitrous oxide) from a balloon moments before he tried to overtake a Porsche car in a Volkswagen Golf during the tea-time rush hour on June 8 last year.

Bradford Crown Court heard today (Monday) that the overtaking manoeuvre on Cottingley Cliffe Road was illegal on that stretch of road and that Shah’s concerned passenger had told him to stop the vehicle because she was worried about his erratic driving.

But Shah, of Firethorn Close, Girlington, clipped the Porsche car as he was confronted by oncoming traffic on the left-hand bend and after scraping another vehicle the Golf was flipped into the air with its nose facing downwards before it smashed into another car and ended up on its roof.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Shah’s passenger, an 18-year-old college student, was thrown from the Golf and she remembered waking up in pain on the roadside being helped by a nurse.

In the aftermath of the crash she had suffered flashbacks and was unable to complete her qualifications.

The court heard that Shah, who was still a banned and uninsured driver because he had never taken an extended driving test, left the scene, but later came back pretending to be a concerned bystander.

But mobile footage was used to confirm he had been the driver of the Golf and despite making answering “no comment” to questions during a police interview he subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

His passenger suffered fractures to her spine, ribs and left arm and the Recorder of Bradford Judge Richard Mansell QC said it was a miracle that Shah hadn’t killed her or the mother and son in the on-coming car which was struck by the out of control Golf.

“This was an appalling incident of mindless stupidity by you,” he told Shah.

“To make matters worse you were inhaling NOS from a small canister and no doubt laughing and joking with your female passenger who was seriously injured in the accident that followed.

“The effects of laughing gas are such that nobody should be inhaling this stuff whilst driving let alone on a dangerous stretch of road like this as it makes users disinhibited.”

The judge the Golf literally flew through the air during the incident and added:”It was frankly a miracle that you did not kill your passenger or the driver of one of the other vehicles involved.

“In an act of pure selfish cowardice you made off from the scene leaving your passenger seriously injured.”

Judge Mansell said Shah’s passenger had suffered very grave injuries and had still not fully recovered.

“This is about as bad an offence of its kind as it is possible to imagine with many aggravating factors,” said the judge.

The offence however only carries a maximum jail term of five years and Judge Mansell set the starting point for sentence at four years and eight months after a trial.

But because of Shah’s guilty plea the judge also had to reduce that sentence by 25 per cent meaning he was jailed for 42 months of which he will serve half.

The judge also banned him from driving for four years and nine months, but Shah must still take the extended re-test before lawfully driving on the roads again.

Barrister Abigail Langford, for Shah, said he understood the gravity of the offence he had committed and was sorry for what happened that day.