Man died after cousin driver fell asleep

A YOUNG man was hit by a tanker after being hurled out of a car which crashed into the central reservation on the M6 near Coventry.

Bilal Mohammed died after being thrown from a car being driven by his cousin Nabeen Sultan, who had fallen asleep as they made their way home to Leicester from a meal out in Birmingham.

A judge heard how the driver of the tanker was unable to avoid driving over the 21-year-old after he landed in the middle lane of the northbound carriageway between junctions three and two on May 9 last year. Over 1,00 people attended his funeral.

Sultan, 22, of Victoria Road East, Leicester had denied causing death by dangerous driving, but changed his plea to guilty on the day of his trial at Warwick Crown Court.

He was jailed for 20 months and banned from driving for two years.

Prosecutor Neil Bannister said it appeared Sultan - who had not been drinking - had fallen asleep and taken his hands off the wheel before waking to the realisation the car was veering towards the nearside.

"He reacted in such a way as to put a considerable degree of force on the steering wheel towards the right.

"Unfortunately because of the violent steering it was impossible for the defendant to regain control of the car and it careered towards the central Arnco barrier."

The Daewoo Matiz rotated 180 degrees before hitting the barrier, throwing Bilal forward and then out of the rear window.

Steven Newcombe, defending, said: "He (Sultan) knows he has caused a terrible rift in the family."