Lamborghini driver who killed friend in 143mph fireball crash then skipped sentencing in plan to 'avoid justice' is jailed for 10 years

A beautician who initially claimed she was asleep when her friend died in a 143mph Lamborghini crash and then deliberately skipped her sentencing hearing has been jailed for ten years.Compulsive liar Humaira Batool, 26, was driving the rented £220,000 Urus supercar in wet conditions in the early hours of the morning when it crashed through a barrier on the M62 near Ripponden, West Yorkshire.The car overturned and burst into flames with Mohammed Shaan Hussain, 20, trapped inside as motorists desperately attempted to rescue him.Miraculously, Batool escaped the vehicle with serious injuries when the blaze melted her seatbelt, allowing her to exit the car. Mr Hussain remained trapped inside and, despite surviving the initial crash, succumbed to the flames. Judge Ray Singh said it was a 'truly dreadful way for any human being to die.' Batool, of Bradford, initially told investigators she had been asleep in the car's passenger seat when the Lamborghini crashed on December 21 2022.But she changed her story when confronted with CCTV evidence showing her getting out of the passenger seat at traffic lights and switching with Mr Hussain in the driver's seat.She then claimed the car had only reached speeds of more than 140mph because Mr Hussain had been 'reaching over' and 'tampering' with the controls, causing it to 'surge' forward.However, a Lamborghini expert said this was impossible and the eye-watering speeds could only be reached with the driver's 'right foot.' Humaira Batool initially claimed she awoke when the car rolled but changed her story when confronted with CCTV evidence Mohammed Shaan Hussain, 20, of Bradford, was pronounced dead at the scene Footage shown to the jury showed Humaira Batool leaving the passenger seat and taking the driver's seat from Mr HussainBatool was due to be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Monday but failed to turn up to the hearing, claiming a flare-up of endometriosis had prompted her to attend A&E.Prosecutor Christopher Dunn said this was 'clearly a ruse' and she was trying to 'avoid justice.'Judge Ray Singh agreed and issued a warrant for her arrest. She was apprehended by police at Bradford Royal Infirmary and driven directly to the court and remanded in custody overnight. Appearing for her rearranged sentencing hearing today, Batool entered the dock on crutches wearing a winter coat and with her hair in a bun.She showed no emotion as she was jailed for ten years and disqualified from driving. Judge Ray Singh said: ‘This was a tragic and entirely avoidable death.‘Mohammed Shaan Hussain was only 20 years old. He was your friend. His life was brought to a sudden and horrific end in the early hours of 21 December 2022.‘The circumstances in which he died are particularly distressing.’Judge Singh said it was a ‘prolonged course of dangerous driving extending over a substantial distance, many miles.’He added: ‘The evidence showed conscious decisions to continue driving at wholly excessive speeds and to accelerate when you believed detection was unlikely.’He said that Mr Hussain survived the initial collision but was trapped inside when it burst into flames.‘That is a truly dreadful way for any human being to die,’ he said.The judge said Batool had repeatedly tried to pin the blame on Mr Hussain for the crash ‘knowing he was unable to speak on his own behalf.’In a victim impact statement, Mr Hussain’s mother, Nasreen Akhtar, said: ‘My son was the heartbeat of this home. To lose him suddenly in this horror crash has broken us in ways we can’t put into words.''He was 20 years old with his whole life ahead of him. The loss of our son has taken an enormous toll on the entire family. His death has affected each of us in different ways but none of us has been able to return to the life we had before he was taken.' She added that Batool's attempts to blame him for the crash had only compounded their grief. 'No parent should have to fight for the honour of their child while still weeping for him,' she said. When Batool was taken to court by police officers on Monday after skipping her sentencing, Judge Singh said her non-attendance was 'unforgiveable.'As he considered whether to bail her overnight ahead of today's sentencing hearing, prosecutor Christopher Dunn said he had uncovered social media photographs showing her wearing high heels and a ball gown in the weeks before her trial.Mr Dunn said he didn't want Judge Singh to be 'misled' as he considered bail, saying the ball gown photographs showed Batool could not be trusted.In mitigation, Richard Dawson said Batool was ‘still grieving for the loss of her friend who died in this incident’ and she had been left with ‘life-changing injuries and was extremely fortunate to survive.’Batool's trial heard that, following the crash, the car was engulfed by a 'very significant explosion' with Mr Hussain trapped inside the vehicle.Witnesses who had been overtaken by the Lamborghini stopped to help and heard a woman shouting for assistance.Jurors heard Batool was later found by a second group of witnesses on a grass verge near the motorway, while Hussain was trapped in the wreckage.She was left with serious injuries, including burns to around 10 per cent of her body and a shattered tibia.The court heard how Batool previously had her driving licence revoked after being convicted of driving without insurance. She later passed another driving test but was advised not to drive because she had suffered black-outs.Batool was also banned from driving for five years upon her release from prison.