A DANGEROUS driver who killed a much-loved elderly couple after he sped into their van at a roundabout has been jailed.
A court judge told Tahid Abdul after he was found guilty today 'you killed them, your driving killed them, why were you driving so fast in those conditions, there was no reason.'
A heartbroken relative of the victims killed in the crash said 'my heart was ripped out' when she was told the news and another said their deaths had left a 'large void.'
READ AGAIN: The opening of the case from court.
The 42-year-old of Wingate Close, Oxford, admitted two counts of causing death by careless driving but denied two more serious counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
This morning, as his trial at Oxford Crown Court came to an end jurors returned unanimous guilty verdicts to both counts.
During the case which began earlier this week the jury heard that the fateful collision took place at about 8.15pm on Wednesday June 12 last year at the A41 and Vendee Drive junction, near Bicester.
Kenneth, 77, and Gillian, 80, Jarvis, from Bicester, were travelling in a Renault Kangoo, and Abdul was driving a BMW X5 with one passenger.
Mr Jarvis, driving, was passing on the roundabout when Abdul approached the junction.
READ AGAIN: A collision investigator tells the jury what he saw.
Matthew Walsh, for the prosecution, told jurors that the collision happened soon after when Abdul's BMW hit the van 'at speed.'
He said the van was sent 'up into the air' before coming to a rest on its roof on the far side of the roundabout.
As a result of the impact a collision investigator said the van travelled 37 metres and he described the damage as 'extensive.'
Both Mr and Mrs Jarvis died at the scene from their injuries while Abdul and his passenger were unharmed.
Jurors were also told that on the night of the crash the weather was poor with 'heavy, torrential rain.'
From the witness box Abdul claimed he never saw the van on the roundabout and he denied driving 'aggressively.'
READ AGAIN: Abdul goes to the witness box to defend himself.
After the verdicts were returned his defence barrister said that his client, a father-of-five, felt 'great remorse for the loss of life.'
The court went on to hear poignant victim personal statements from family members.
One family member said the loss had left 'a large void in our lives.'
Another said: "My heart was ripped out the day those officers knocked on our door with the news they had been taken away."
Sentencing, Judge Michael Gledhill QC said: "It was a powerful BMW X5 and you were using the power to drive far too fast in those road conditions and you are responsible for their deaths.
"I appreciate that you will have to live with that for the rest of your life."
He was jailed for four years and banned from driving for six years and he must pay a statutory victim surcharge.
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