A SPEEDING driver who killed one of the leading lights in Coventry’s boxing community as he was crossing the road near his home has been told he will be getting a prison sentence.
Orlando Bundy, who was said to have been racing another car at the time, had pleaded not guilty to causing the death of Adeel Gul in October 2018 by dangerous driving.
But it took a jury at Warwick Crown Court less than an hour to find Bundy (22) of Trentham Road, Hillfields, Coventry, guilty by a unanimous verdict.
The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared on him, and Bundy was granted bail – but was warned by Judge Anthony Potter: “It will be custody.”
Prosecutor Patrick Sullivan had told the jury: “At just before 8pm on Sunday the 7th of October 2018 Adeel Gul stepped out to cross the road near his home.
“They were his last steps. He was struck by a VW Golf being driven by Mr Bundy.”
Following the high-speed impact, which left the front of his car damaged, Bundy drove from the scene leaving Mr Gul lying in the road where other people stopped and tried to help him.
But despite their efforts and those of paramedics who attended, Mr Gul, who was well-known in Coventry boxing circles and ran the AG Boxing Gym in Bodmin Road, died at the scene.
Mr Sullivan pointed out it was not disputed that Bundy was driving a car which struck Mr Gul, whose death attracted many tributes including one from former World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
“This trial is about whether, by driving dangerously, he caused the death of Adeel Gul.”
He explained that the tragic collision took place as Mr Gul was crossing Allesley Old Road, probably on his way back to his home, near to the junction with Duke Street.
Footage from a CCTV camera at the Bethel Church in Spon End showed that as he passed there on his way away from the ring road, Bundy was doing more than 50mph.
And a camera at the Four Provinces pub, just 94 metres from the point where Mr Gul was struck, led to his speed as he passed the pub being calculated at 59mph.
At the time he was ‘in pursuit of another car travelling even faster, at 79mph,’ said Mr Sullivan.
That faster car passed close to Mr Gul as he was crossing the road – but he was struck by the Golf which was doing 41-50mph at the moment of impact.
Bundy callously kept going and dumped the damaged car on the north-east side of the city with a tarpaulin over it, but handed himself in a couple of days later.
Andrew Fellows, who was going in the opposite direction, said he had stopped at traffic lights ‘at the top of Four Pounds Avenue,’ and after pulling away ‘I saw an object in the road and then realised it was a person.’
He told the jury he stopped and ran over to Mr Gul to try to assist him, then moved his car into the road to block anything else hitting him – adding that when the police arrived he was in the house with Mr Gul’s family.
Bundy said he was in Allesley Old Road on his way to pick up a friend to drive him back to university in Birmingham when a car, possibly a Volvo or a Vauxhall Insignia, overtook him at speed and then tried to merge back into the traffic.
He said he then saw ‘a guy with a hoodie up like he was crossing the road, and he starts running.’
Bundy said the man who was running ‘nudged his knee off the bumper’ at the rear of the speeding car, and as he moved to the right to avoid him, the man had been lifted into the air and fell onto the bonnet of his car.
“When he got hit he just landed on my car. I tried to avoid him, but I couldn’t.
“It just happened so quick. I was just thinking ‘what should I do? Should I go to get the guy who’s driven off, or stop?’ I just panicked.”
He denied he had been driving dangerously, and claimed: “He fell onto my car. If my car hadn’t been there it would have been the concrete floor.”
But his account was quickly rejected by the jury.
