Imran Habib, 28, believed he was being targeted by police who were responding to a separate incident
An Audi driver who reached speeds of 90mph in the mistaken belief police were pursuing him has been jailed for causing a serious collision. Imran Habib “panicked” and accelerated away after spotting marked vehicles while driving in Redbridge, North East London, in June last year, a court heard.
The officers were responding to a separate incident at the time, but the 28-year-old believed he was being targeted and began driving erratically. Police did then focus their attention on Habib, who led them on a pursuit which ended with a crash.
He ploughed his A4 into two vehicles – one of which had a three-month-old baby inside – and struck a motorcyclist, knocking them off. Habib then attempted to escape on foot but was apprehended 20 minutes later – just 11 weeks after having been released from a young offenders’ institution.
He subsequently admitted dangerous driving and was jailed for a year at Snaresbrook Crown Court earlier this month. The court was told Habib, of Forest Gate, had been released from a young offenders’ institution on 27 March 2025 after receiving a 14-year sentence and a nine-year driving ban in 2018.
Court reports from the time describe how Habib then deliberately drove an Audi A1 vehicle into a 16-year-old cyclist, leaving him with severe head and leg injuries. He was sentenced to 14 years for grievous bodily harm, and, as is standard practice, released on licence after serving half of his sentence.
This month, prosecutor Shagana Joseph outlined how Habib had drawn the attention of police by travelling at 90mph while weaving between lanes in a 50mph zone. Following a 60-second pursuit, Habib crashed the vehicle he was driving, which belonged to his cousin, into two cars and a motorcyclist.
The court heard that no injuries were reported, despite one of the cars carrying a three-month-old baby, and the motorcyclist being knocked from his bike. Officers apprehended Habib after locating him approximately 20 minutes later, and he was recalled to prison.
He was charged in December that year and pleaded guilty at magistrates’ court on March 25 this year. In mitigation, defence barrister Joanna Staples argued that an ‘unreasonable delay in the proceedings’ ought to be taken into consideration when reducing Habib’s sentence.
The barrister told the court that Habib lives with ADHD and was “struggling mentally to adjust to life on the outside” at the time of the collision. The court heard that Habib had been told his grandmother had been taken to hospital after suffering a suspected second stroke, and so he borrowed his cousin’s car to drive, he said, to the hospital.
Ms Staples said: “He saw the police car some way behind him, and, in his own words, he panicked. He actually mistakenly thought they were coming for him.”
Ms Staples urged Recorder Tom Forster KC to ‘keep the sentence to the minimum’ of one year in order to ‘keep some hope alive’ that he may be released at his next parole hearing on July 21. Recorder Tom Forster KC described the facts of the case as “simple albeit very serious”, given that Habib had carried out “highly dangerous” manoeuvres behind the wheel.
The judge stated that Habib’s journey to hospital was “a completely neutral factor and not mitigation”, since he “shouldn’t have been in a car at all.” Nevertheless, the judge acknowledged that Habib had since demonstrated evidence of sincere remorse, while a letter from his uncle suggested he had a reasonable prospect of securing employment upon his release.
The judge also noted that a delay between Habib’s apprehension and charge had resulted in further prejudice to the case. He said: “If proceedings had been brought in a more timely fashion, it’s likely you’d have served most of [the] sentence.”
Habib received a 12-month custodial sentence and was disqualified from driving for three years and six months. He will be required to pass an extended re-test before he is permitted to get back behind the wheel, and was further ordered to pay a victim surcharge.
Separate charges relating to driving while disqualified and driving without insurance were not pursued, as they were deemed ‘time-barred’ — meaning that legal proceedings must be initiated within six calendar months of the offence being committed.
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