Five years in prison have been imposed on a reckless motorist who killed a woman while racing an illegally modified car on the street.
On September 7, 2020, in Sydney’s west, Claire Georgey, 22, was traveling home from work when Mohammed Abdulmunim Saleh struck her car as it was turning onto Cumberland Highway.
According to Justice Stephen Hanley, Saleh was operating a Nissan Skyline with 800 horsepower that had been altered to make it “incapable of being lawfully registered to drive on public roads.”
At Merrylands West, the automobile impacted Georgey’s Subaru Forrester at a speed of 45 km/h over the posted 70 km/h.
Jim Spiros Malama, a friend of Saleh’s who had previously been found guilty of reckless driving and given an 18-month community service order, was the racer.
After the crash, Georgey was transferred to Westmead Hospital; however, a week later, it was determined that he was brain dead and that life support was no longer necessary.
Her car also contained a passenger who needed extensive long-term physical rehabilitation due to injuries.
Prior to the collision, witnesses claimed to have heard strong revving and accelerations. At the moment of impact, they heard a “short screech and massive, massive bang.”
Saleh, 32, earlier entered guilty pleas to charges of dangerous driving resulting in death and dangerous driving causing great bodily harm. Today, he made an appearance in Parramatta District Court.
He received a five-year jail sentence total, with a three-year non-parole period.
His entire term expires in November 2028, and on November 25, 2026, he will be eligible for parole.
Additionally, he lost his eligibility to have a license.
Saleh’s high speed was the reason behind the collision, according to Judge Hanley, who also mentioned that Saleh had a history of driving violations, including five driving bans.
The court read aloud from Georgey’s mother and sister’s joint impact statement, which described the suffering the family had to endure after losing a “wonderful young woman” who had been deprived of the opportunity to live a full life.
Justice Hanley stated, “Lives should never be measured by the punishment meted out to the offender,” but given the two victims and the two separate crimes committed, a jail term was the only suitable outcome.
