The 'stupid' drunk who hired a Mercedes to 'look good' and did 64mph in a 20 zone - killing a popular taxi driver and destroying two other liveshttps://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... t-17818643The family of Chorlton dad-of-four Saleem Pacha say they have forgiven the man who killed him because it is 'what he would have wanted'
Image: ASP/Manchester Evening NewsA drunk driver who hired a black Mercedes to 'look good' crashed into a taxi, killing the driver and seriously injuring four friends celebrating the New Year.
Kelvin Todd, 34, was driving three times the speed limit, at least 64mph in a 20mph zone, when he hit 59-year-old Saleem Pacha's taxi at about 3am on New Year's Day in Fallowfield. He had also drank 'four double vodkas'.
Four men, friends who had been bringing in the New Year together, were all seriously injured as passengers in the taxi.
One remains in hospital after suffering a severe head injury.
A judge said it was only the skill of doctors that saved his life.
He is unable to communicate and is being fed through a tube, and his family fear he may never fully recover.
Mr Pacha's son said his family have forgiven as ''that's what my father would have done'.
Now Todd has been jailed for nine years, after he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Judge Richard Mansell QC told a public gallery full of family and friends of the victims that the sentence 'must in no way be regarded as placing a value on the human lives taken or so devastatingly affected'.
Manchester Crown Court heard that the four close friends had been to a party at one of their homes, before deciding to head out to a bar in Withington and ordering a taxi.
Mr Pacha, a father of four and grandfather of 10 from Chorlton, was driving 'safely and carefully' on Yew Tree Road when Todd approached in the hired Mercedes from the opposite direction.
Todd later told police that he had hired the car over the New Year period to 'look good'.
When he approached a bend in the road he was found to be driving at a speed of at least 64mph, in a 20mph zone.
The Mercedes C43 AMG ploughed into the Skoda Octavia taxi.
Mr Pacha suffered fatal injuries, and was pronounced dead about an hour later in hospital.
In a statement read to the court, Mr Pacha's son Yasin paid tribute to a 'gentle, kind, loving and generous man' who was always willing to help others, and told of their devastation.
Mr Pacha, a well known and popular man who had been married for 38 years, volunteered for charity the Men's Shed, which aims to tackle loneliness in older men, and was also known to give free taxi rides to people who were struggling.
Yasin said his family have 'forgiven' Todd, because 'that's what my father would have done'.
The most seriously injured of the four men had been sat directly behind Mr Pacha in the car.
His mother told the court that he spent three weeks unconscious following the crash, and he still has impaired consciousness.
He is unable to communicate or obey commands, requiring 24 hour care, and faces a long journey of rehabilitation.
A talented musician, his mother described him as 'vibrant, intelligent, humorous, actively loving and artistic'.
Another of the passengers suffered multiple serious injuries, including several rib fractures, a punctured lung, pelvis fractures and needed three operations.
He has been wheelchair bound since being released from hospital, and he will be unable to return to his former job as a bricklayer.
In a statement read to the court, he said that at one point he wanted doctors to turn the machines off as he 'just wanted to die' due to the pain.
The two other men were less seriously hurt.
One, a freelance film producer, suffered broken ribs.
Another, a, freelance audio visual technician, suffered a deep cut to the chin and a cut to his head.
Sentencing, Judge Mansell said Todd had displayed a 'flagrant disregard for the rules of the road and for the safety of other road users'.
The court heard that Todd, of Princess Road, Withington, has a 'lengthy' criminal record, committing his first offence aged 13.
He has appeared before courts for driving offences as well as robbery and possession of a firearm in 2007, when he received a sentence of imprisonment for public protection.
Todd had only passed his driving test a few months prior to the fatal collision.
Defending, Mark Rhind said Todd is 'full of regret and remorse', and that he never intended to hurt anyone.
Mr Rhind said Todd 'knows what the families are going through' because he previously lost his cousin in a fatal car crash.
The barrister said the Mercedes was 'far too powerful' for Todd given his limited driving experience.
He described Todd's behaviour as a 'stupid act from a stupid man'.
Todd was banned from driving for nine-and-a-half years, and must pass an extended re-test.
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