Rida Kazem

2 offences

What the court heard

He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous in Ealing, west London, on 22 August 2022. 1. Introduction 1.1 Rida KAZEM you are aged 24. 1.2 In the early hours of 22nd August 2022 you drove your Range Rover motorcar so dangerously as to cause the death of one passenger, Ms Yagmur Ozden and serious injury to your other passenger, Ms Zamerod Arif. That resulted in the two counts on which you are to be sentenced today, and to which you pleaded guilty on 16th February this year. 1.3 In the light of those pleas, and the acceptance on your behalf that this would be an aggravating feature, a separate allegation of failing to permit the analysis of a specimen of blood was discontinued by the prosecution on public interest grounds. 1.4 A third person, Mr Baxnaan Hersi, was also significantly injured but that did not result in a separate charge. 1.5 Sentence has been delayed to allow your representatives to obtain a psychological assessment and other documentation now before me. 2. The crash 2.1 On the evening of 21st August 2022 two women, Ms Ozden and Ms Arif, were enjoying a night out ending up in the early hours of 22nd August at the Whish Lounge Shisha Bar in Park Royal. 2.2 Ms Arif knew you socially and a prior arrangement had been made with you to give them a lift home after closing time. They met you there and at about 3.45am you left the bar to go and collect your Range Rover motor car. You brought it to the club where Ms Arif got in the front passenger seat and Ms Ozden into the rear. Neither you nor Ms Ozden wore your seatbelts. Ms Arif wisely did. The Range Rover was a black SVR model, a particularly powerful motor car, that you had bought on finance some 3 months before. 2.3 From the club you drove along several roads before you joined the A 40. Mr Alhasan, who had been at the same club, saw you there at some traffic lights and, when they turned green he saw you drive forward at a very quick speed and then turn around the corner onto the A40 in the other direction, now heading westbound in the direction of Park Royal and, as he put it "fly away from us .. really quick" although the speed limit was 40mph. 2.4 From that point up to and including the crash you were caught on various CCTV cameras and we have watched that compilation. 2.5 You were travelling in the middle lane of three. The weather was dry and there was no other traffic. That does not excuse your accelerating to about 110mph. I have no…

Aggravating and mitigating factors

Family at Court; The fact that the offender has been seriously injured as a result of his dangerous driving; A Guilty Plea

Around this case

• Isleworth Crown Court
• Prosecuted by Crown Prosecution Service
• Investigated by Metropolitan Police Service