"A senseless death" - Taxi driver jailed for seven years after killing recovery worker on the M3 after crashing into him while texting
A taxi driver has been jailed for seven years after he caused a fatal collision on the M3.
Mohamed Farooq Saleemi, 64, of Cedar Road in Eastleigh, was texting on his phone when he crashed into a recovery worker on the hard shoulder of the M3 on February 21, 2022.
Vologea Mihaliuc, 54, was helping to recover a broken down vehicle when Saleemi’s car collided with him between junctions 13 and 14. Despite the recovery vehicle having flashing amber lights, Saleemi did not notice as he was using his phone as his car veered off the road and into Mr Mihaliuc. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Saleemi was sentenced to seven years for causing death by dangerous driving, following a trial at Southampton Crown Court on Thursday, January 15. He was also sentenced for perverting the course of justice, after he tried to hide his phone from police officers, which he had previously pleaded guilty to.
DC Joy Jarvis, of the Roads Policing Unit, said: “This was a senseless death caused by a distracted driver who was using his phone.
“As a professional taxi driver, the defendant should have known better. To risk lives just to send a text is a completely selfish act and now a family has been completely torn apart by this man’s actions.”
Shocking footage of Saleemi’s car veering off the road ahead of the crash can be found in the video embedded in this article.