A speeding driver hit a man on his way home from a bowling club

A hit-and-run driver who hit a pedestrian as he walked home after a night at the local bowling club has been given unpaid work.

Mohammed Rasheed, 29, was driving his Kia Optima at 41mph in a 30mph zone in Stenhousemuir, Stirlingshire, when the incident happened at eight minutes after midnight on March 11, 2022.

Stirling Sheriff Court heard that James Rick, 36, a bricklayer who was walking home from a bowling club with his brother and friends, stepped off the pavement in front of Rashid’s car, was thrown into the air, landed and hit his head on the kerb.

One witness said he didn’t think Rasheed would have had time to react.

Mr. Risk died of head injuries at the scene.

Instead of stopping, Rasheed accelerated to 46 miles per hour, then drove two and a half miles to his home, picked up his wife and returned to the scene with her.

Sheriff Derek Hamilton sentenced Rashid to 300 hours of unpaid work plus a 27-month driving ban.

He said: “This tragedy cannot be said to have happened because of a momentary mistake.

“Your average speed was well over the speed limit.

“You said you saw drunk people walking on the sidewalk, but took no action to slow down or distance yourself from the potential danger these pedestrians could pose.

“The circumstances were tragically simple and, unfortunately, all too common.”

He added that Rasheed’s behavior after the collision was “quite extraordinary”.

Sheriff Hamilton said Mr Risk was “obviously part of a very close family” and will be greatly missed.

He said: “I don’t think that any sentence that I can hand down will in any way help the family of Mr Risk to get any closure.

“Nothing I can do is a reflection of what Mr. Risk’s life was worth.”

The court heard the tragedy was caught on CCTV at the local Crown Inn pub in Main Street.

Prosecutor John Adams said Mr Risk, a bricklayer, had spent the evening playing bowls and drinking at Burnhead Bowling Club in nearby Larbert with his father, brother and friends.

He left the club around midnight with his brother and two friends.

Post-mortem toxicology tests showed that the amount of alcohol in his system would have resulted in him being several times over the legal drink drive limit.

Mr Adams said: “Mr Risk stepped into the road in front of the car causing Mr Rasheed to hit him from behind with the front of the car.

“Mr. Risk was thrown into the air and landed on the road near the curb.”

His brother and friends went to help him, only to find him unresponsive and bleeding profusely from a fatal head injury.

Rashid told police: “I was driving on this road. I saw two people. I think they were drunk… Then there was a bang.”

Police investigators noted the “very good lighting conditions” at the scene of the accident and concluded that the Kia’s excessive speed, Rashid’s failure to look far enough in front of his vehicle to avoid danger, and Mr. Risk’s walking in the roadway contributed to the tragedy. than the pavement.

Rasheed, a Falkirk customer service advisor, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Senior barrister Simon Hutchison, defending, said: “In all my years of practice I have never seen anyone so genuinely remorseful.”

Mr Risk’s family said at the time: “James was the life and soul of the party. He was loved by all who knew him and lit up every room. He was a talented mason and bowler and will be greatly missed by all of us.

“The light has disappeared from our lives, but it will remain in our hearts forever.”