Hardeep Bhachu, 29, and Jasskamal Riyat, 37, have been sentenced to 12 and 16 years in prison, respectively, after being convicted in connection with the deaths of Justyna Hulboj, 27, and her four-year-old daughter, Lena Czepczor. The pair struck and killed Hulboj and Czepczor while racing their high-performance cars along Scott Hall Road in Leeds on January 16, 2023. Riyat’s BMW reached speeds of up to 89mph in a 40mph zone before Bhachu lost control of his Audi, mounting the pavement and hitting the mother and daughter as they walked to nursery.
Prosecutors presented evidence that Bhachu and Riyat, who did not know each other prior to the incident, accelerated from traffic lights, initiating the race. Bhachu admitted to causing death by dangerous driving, while Riyat was convicted by a jury after denying the charge. Judge Singh, sentencing the men at Leeds Crown Court, stated the road was “not a race track” and emphasized the “immeasurable” impact of their actions.
Dominik Czepczor, Hulboj’s fiancé, described his “whole world” collapsing and lamented the loss of their future family. Detective Inspector Paul Conroy of West Yorkshire Police stated that no sentence could adequately compensate for the lives lost. Susannah Proctor, representing Bhachu, told the court her client was a “normal person who’s made a massive mistake” and would have to live with the devastation he caused.
Our reading is that the sentences handed down reflect the severity of the crime and the judge’s emphasis on the reckless disregard for human life displayed by Bhachu and Riyat. The disparity in sentence length, 12 years for Bhachu versus 16 for Riyat, likely reflects the differing degrees of culpability established during the trial, with Riyat’s denial of the charge potentially contributing to a harsher penalty. The statements from the victim’s family and police underscore the profound and irreparable loss caused by the defendants’ actions.
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