Illegal meet driver's car was 'spitting fire' before he killed Dudley teens

A former Iraqi military man who hurtled into a crowd as he brazenly flaunted his 'lethal' Nissan Skyline during an illegal car meet has been locked up. Killer driver Dhiya Al Maamoury mowed down four friends moments after flames were seen coming from the exhaust of his Japanese import.

The 56-year-old - who already had points on his licence for speeding - was 'cruising and showing off' the modified car when he 'deliberately' accelerated, forcing the tyres to spin. He then 'completely' lost control of his car and ploughed into onlookers at the unauthorised gathering in the Black Country.

Pedestrians Liberty Charris, 16, and Ben Corfield, 19, were killed at the scene. Their friends Ebonie Parkes and Ethan Kilburn were rushed to hospital with serious injuries but survived.

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Al Maamoury admitted two counts of causing deaths by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was jailed for 13 years and six months and handed a 14-year driving ban today, Friday, November 8.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard a car meet was arranged on social media for November 20, 2022. Members of the public lined the streets in a bid to catch a glimpse of cars being 'shown off' by their owners.

Al Maamoury's car - which was blue with a white bonnet - was 'very distinctive' and so 'stood out' on CCTV and social media footage. The Nissan was spotted on CCTV parked in a Shell garage forecourt before leaving 'in convoy' with other cars.

A witness said they noticed the back end of the Nissan was 'stepping out' as it went around a roundabout about 30 minutes before the collision, which took place on the A457 Oldbury Road near the junction with Crystal Drive, Oldbury. They told a friend at the time: "That car looks lethal."

Other witnesses described hearing the Nissan's engine 'revving'. Footage played to the court captured Al Maamoury - of Evenlode Road, Solihull - pulling out of a side road and onto the dual carriageway. Other clips showed the vehicle 'fishtailing' in the moments before impact.

Michelle Heeley KC, prosecuting, said: "The defendant had come out of the roundabout, deliberately accelerating, which caused flames to come from his exhaust and because he accelerated so fast, his tyres lost grip with the road. That caused the car, initially, to steer towards the central reservation of the carriageway.

"The defendant tried to correct that, which then caused the car to turn the other way towards the footpath on his left-hand side. He lost control of the car completely and crashed into pedestrians who were standing on the footpath.

"He collided with a brick wall, causing that to collapse." The court heard illegal car meets planned in the area had caused concern, with a number of dispersal notices issued by West Midlands Police.

Two officers were sent to the scene in response to reports of cars racing and arrived just after the late-night collision had happened. Liberty was seen about 15ft from the Nissan, with a serious head injury that was 'bleeding profusely'.

She was initially breathing but CPR was given at the roadside by an officer when her condition deteriorated. Ben was 'unresponsive' near the front of the Nissan.

Both victims, from Dudley, were declared dead at the scene by paramedics. Ebonie - who was 20 at the time - suffered multiple injuries including a collapsed lung, fractured ribs, cuts to her kidney and a blocked artery to her kidney.

She also fractured her hip, leg, shoulder, thumb and fingers. The court heard she was initially in intensive care for four days before being moved to another ward for 17 days and had to use a wheelchair for six weeks.

Ethan, then 21, fractured his pelvis and forearm but did not need surgery. He had to use crutches for three months after the smash and needed physiotherapy.

Married Al Maamoury - who was in the Nissan with his adult sons - was arrested at the scene. He told police he was not speeding excessively and his car had 'gone to the kerb by itself'.

He said he had taken his sons to the illegal gathering because they 'like to photograph the cars'. He also claimed he was on his way home and 'made a U-turn on the roundabout'.

In his police interview, Al Maamoury said the Nissan had been imported from Japan about 18 months before the collision. He detailed how he had modified it - adding a turbo engine, changing the radiator to a large aluminium one, adding an intercooler to the engine, changing the gear box and changing the brake pads.

The vehicle passed its MoT about six weeks earlier, the court heard. An expert determined that Al Maamoury was driving at speeds between 54 and 57mph in a 40mph zone.

He was on the correct side of the road when he lost control. There was 'nothing wrong' with the car which could have contributed to the crash.

The court heard a number of 'high performance' cars were also seen at the scene by police, with some driving at higher speeds than Al Maamoury on the same stretch of road. But it was Al Maamoury's 'excessive accelerating' which caused the crash.

Ms Heeley said: "He booted out the back end and then lost traction with the road and then the attempt to oversteer, overcorrect, meant it lost control." She added: "The Crown said he was cruising and showing off, driving dangerously in an area full of pedestrians."

Al Maamoury was not under the influence of drink or drugs at the time and there was 'no evidence' he was racing. Balbir Singh, defending, said the consequences of the collision were not 'intended, envisaged or foreseen'.

The defendant bought and modified the Nissan for his son, a motor engineering undergraduate and a 'car enthusiast'. Al Maamoury has been driving since the age of 18.

He served in the military in Iraq - his home country. His family was 'displaced' as a result of the Gulf War and moved to the UK, the court was told.

Mr Singh said: "He has worked hard to bring up his family." Al Maamoury - who cares for his 'very unwell' wife - was 'full of regret and remorse', Mr Singh added.

The driver had no previous convictions but had three points on his licence for 'exceeding' a 30mph speed limit in November 2020. That was described by Mr Singh as a 'blip' at a time when the dad 'misunderstood the speed limit'.

Judge Michael Chambers KC said Al Maamoury made a 'deliberate decision to accelerate hard'. The defendant also modified the Nissan in order to 'increase its power'. He said: "Cars like a Porsche, for example, are clearly designed both in terms of the engine and the sort of tyres that are designed to go with it, to cope with sudden, hard acceleration.

"Modified cars, such as these, clearly are not. He must have known that people were gathering at the side of the road. These events tragically attract a lot of young people."

The judge said the defendant was seen to be 'revving' the Nissan's engine 'to the extent the exhaust was spitting fire'. Al Maamoury made a 'deliberate decision to accelerate hard', he added.