Trio sentenced after high-speed car crash (From News Shopper)

Trio sentenced after Aston Martin BMW high-speed car chase

10:19am Friday 10th February 2012 in News By Nina Massey

THREE men have been sentenced for their parts in a high-speed road race which involved an Aston Martin Vantage previously used at a James Bond film premiere.

The random street-racing contest took place in broad daylight last July and left the car an unrecognisable wreck.

Christopher Owolabni, aged 28, from Giffin Street, Deptford was given a nine-month sentence suspended for 12 months, ordered to complete 140 hours of community service and disqualified from driving for 18 months.

Saifur Rahman, aged 24, of Turners Road, Tower Hamlets received three months imprisonment suspended for 12 months, was given 100 hours community service and disqualified from driving for 18 months.

On February 9 Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how both men reached speeds of 78mph in a 40mph zone as they raced in and out of tunnels towards the Limehouse link before colliding at Aspen Way, Poplar.

Rahman and Owolabni had never met and the race appears to have motivated by bravado after the two high-performance hired cars, worth a collective £120k, pulled side by side near Canary Wharf.

Before sentencing the two men for dangerous driving, the court heard how both drivers walked away unharmed.

The unrecognisable wreck

The Aston Martin Vantage collided with the BMW M3 and spun wildly out of control, eventually smashing against a concrete wall.

Detective Constable Robert Eastick of the Met's Traffic Operational Command Unit said: "It was a miracle no-one was killed. The CCTV footage clearly shows that the Aston Martin was a few feet away from colliding with other motorists after it had lost control.

“Both drivers showed a complete disregard for other motorists and their own safety when they raced at very high speed on what was a very busy summer day.”

A third man, Ryan Atherley, aged 28, of Vaughan Street, Rotherhithe was sentenced to three months suspended for 12 months and ordered to complete 150 hours of community service for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

He originally claimed falsely to police that he was the driver of the BMW M3 at the time of the collision.

All three men were also ordered to pay £500 each for court costs. Owolabni and Rahman both face driving re-tests once their disqualification period ends.