A disqualified driver who mounted a Birmingham pavement and mowed down a husband and wife walking hand in hand — then reversed over the fatally injured man before fleeing the scene — has been jailed for 11 years and three months, as his widow told the court she cries for her husband every day.
Harinderpal Athwal, 41, of Tividale, was driving his Vauxhall Corsa along Soho Road in Handsworth at around 11.15am on 16 December 2025 when, for reasons that remain unclear, the vehicle swerved into oncoming traffic and mounted the pavement without braking. CCTV footage captured him hitting both victims, striking a parked car before reversing — and then placing the car back into forward drive and hitting Jatinder Verma, 54, a second time before driving away. Jatinder died at the scene. His wife Bandana, 47, who had been walking alongside him, was thrown down the road and suffered a brain bleed, multiple fractures and life-changing injuries. She remains in a wheelchair.
Athwal dumped his car on a nearby street, changed his top to disguise himself and walked away. A police sniffer dog helped locate the vehicle. He was arrested less than 24 hours later, claiming he had been unaware that anyone had died.
What made the offending particularly egregious was that Athwal had been banned from driving just six days before the crash. He had been disqualified on 10 December 2025 after accumulating points for multiple previous offences including drink-driving and failing to identify a driver. He claimed at the time of his arrest that he had not been aware of 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. He was sentenced to 11 years and three months and banned from driving for 20 years from the date of his release, with an extended retest required before he can ever apply for a licence.
Bandana Verma attended court in her wheelchair to deliver a victim impact statement that left no ambiguity about the scale of the destruction Athwal had caused. “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 from West Midlands Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “Athwal’s actions in driving away and refusing to help and report the incident were cruel and heartless, and showed his complete disregard for what he had done in killing and seriously injuring innocent people. 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.”
