4.40pm: A mother from Peterborough has today (Thursday) been warned she faces a long prison sentence after being convicted of causing the death of popular teaching assistant Jai Patel by dangerous driving.
Nasreen Bibi (44) of Crown Street, Peterborough, crashed her Toyota into the side of the motorbike being ridden by father- of-two Mr Patel at about 3.15pm on June 21 last year.
Mr Patel (45), who was travelling home from Ken Stimpson School where he worked, died at the scene of the crash on the junction of the A15 Paston Parkway and the A47.
Today Bibi, a mother-of-three, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving at Cambridge Crown Court when the jury delivered a majority verdict of 11 to one after nearly four hours of deliberations.
Bibi showed no reaction when the foreman read the verdict at the end of the fourth day of the trial.
Judge Anthony Bate adjourned sentencing until the end of November, but told Bibi: “Imprisonment is inevitable for a substantial time.”
Thanking the jury, Judge Bate said the case was ‘a tragedy from more than one perspective.’
Speaking after the verdict was delivered, Mr Patel’s sister, Ranjan Patel (41) said the family could now start the grieving process.
She said: “We have not been able to grieve since this happened, but now we can move on as justice has been done.”
The court had heard how Bibi had been driving along the A15 when she overtook a lorry, before swerving across chevrons marking the junction.
However, John Bramwells, driving the lorry, said he saw Bibi clip the kerb and lose control of her car. She then swerved across the slip road, and collided with Mr Patel’s Yamaha motorbike.
Bibi, who pleaded not guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, claimed she had joined the slip road in plenty of time, and was driving along the road when she heard a bang from the back of her.
Bibi was given an interim driving disqualification ahead of the sentencing hearing, and granted bail with a curfew ordering her to be at her home between 9pm and 6am.
A date for the sentencing, which will take place at Cambridge Crown Court, has not been set, but Judge Bate indicated it would’ve at the end of November.