Driver who killed 20-year-old talented footballer in Northamptonshire had overstayed visa and had no UK driving licence
A court has heard how the father of a motorcyclist lay down on the road with his dying son after he had been hit by a driver with no licence or insurance.
Cameron Arneaud died in Irthlingborough Road, Finedon, after a car driven by Syed Bukhari hit his motorcycle.
Twenty six members of Cameron’s family and friends were in court today (Thursday, November 28) to hear how the 27-year-old defendant had overstayed his student visa and, although he had a Pakistani driving licence, had never applied for a UK licence.
Cameron’s dad told the court how he arrived on the scene of the accident three days before Christmas last year to find his son dying on the ground. He led down next to him on the road surface while he took his last breaths.
His mum spoke of how losing her son had shattered her life and those of her other children, Cameron’s brothers and sister.
The Arsenal fan had been a talented footballer and had been part of an academy before moving to Rushden and starting a new job at the National Accident Helpline.
Wearing a grey suit, Bukhari, formerly of Cambridge Street, Wellingborough and now of Brantwood Court, Luton, stared straight ahead during the entire hearing as the family directed their statements toward him in the dock.
Ben Gow, prosecuting, told Northampton Crown Court that Bukhari, who admitted causing death by careless driving, had been behind the wheel of a Toyota Prius at about 9.15 on December 22, 2023.
He did not have insurance. He had been in the country for more than a year, at which point it becomes mandatory to apply for a UK driving licence. Bukhari had not done so.
As he came toward ‘give way’ signs in Oxford Street in Finedon he slowed to 1.2mph, but didn’t completely stop. There were cars parked on the double yellow lines and there was vegetation obscuring his view.
Mr Gow said: “He proceeded to go straight out, emerging from the junction without taking proper care.”
He pulled out and hit Cameron’s Benelli Tornado bike, which the court heard had been potentially travelling between nine and 14mph over the road’s limit of 30mph.
Cameron died at the scene from his injuries.
The court heard that Bukhari had arrived in the UK on a student visa from Pakistan in 2022 but had overstayed and subsequently married, with his wife giving birth eight months ago.
He had not been able to afford to pay for the legal process which would give him leave to remain, so was not legally in the country.
Friends of the 27-year-old defendant who were in court to support him were told they had to watch the proceedings from a videolink in another room in the courthouse and security was heightened in the building during the hearing.
Cameron’s mum Alison Mitchell read her own victim impact statement to the court, describing how Cameron had been a father figure to her other children after she became a single mother.
She said: “He was their constant source of love, support and guidance.”
She described how her other children had suffered nightmares since his death and had faced struggles with their emotions.
"My daughter is always asking lots of questions,” she said.
"Like who’s going to walk me in the church, mum, when I get married?”
“My youngest sobs and tells me he wants his brother.
“The other one is now 18 and he lost his his best friend as well as his brother. I’ve never seen him more broken.”
Ms Mitchell described how she had always been the ‘strong one’ throughout her life, and addressing Bukhari, she said: “In one single moment, not only did you kill my son, you killed me. You have absolutely destroyed me. I stand before you a broken woman.
“I am not going to see him buy his first car or home. I’m not going to see him fall in love or get married.
"I’ll never see him have children.”
Cameron’s father Daniel Arneaud said that he had watched his son grow into an ‘amazing young man’.
"I am proud of who he became,” he said.
"He supported his mum, leading by example and helping to support his siblings.
"He wanted to be a role model for them, and he was.”
He said his son was ‘loving, caring, thoughtful, compassionate and brave,’ describing the moment he arrived to see his boy lying unconscious on the road.
"The trauma of seeing so many people trying to save my son’s life and then for them to get your permission to stop CPR as he’s gone..”
"Lying beside my son on the road, stalling for as much time as I could so I could say goodbye.
"I am broken and I have no direction. This has cost me my home, my relationship, my job and my son.”
Mitigating, Paul Vickers said that his client now never wanted to drive again after what happened.
He said: “This was a brief moment where, had it not been for a number of factors, he would not be before the court and Mr Arneaud would still be alive.
"He slowed down to 1.2mph and accelerated in what was a normal manner with these devastating consequences."
Bukhari, who has no previous convictions, immediately co-operated with an off-duty Met Police officer who stopped at the scene.
Sentencing, His Honour Judge Rupert Mayo said to Bukhari: “You brought tremendous sorrow into Mr Arneaud’s family. Nothing that I do in terms of passing sentence can, or should, put a value on Cameron’s life.”
He gave him a sentence of 30 weeks in prison, of which he will serve half in jail and the rest on licence. He was also disqualified from driving for 67 weeks.
Following the hearing, Cameron’s family told this newspaper that they believed that although Bukhari had not intended to kill their son, some of his actions had been overloooked.
Daniel Arneaud said: “There was the intention to stay here, the intention to drive, the intention to be on the road without insurance. They are all facts.”
Lead investigator, Detective Constable Rae Pegg of the Force’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, praised Cameron’s family for their courage and strength.
She said: “The devastation this collision has caused cannot be measured. Cameron was a much-loved son and brother, and leaves behind family and friends who all thought the absolute world of him.
“No sentence will ever make up for his death. However, I hope Bukhari is aware that, as result of his careless use of the road, he has left a family completely and forever heartbroken.
“Throughout the investigation and at court, Cameron’s family have displayed immense courage, dignity and emotional strength, and I hope the conclusion of this case will provide them with some sort of closure and give them the time to grieve properly.”
Tragically in 2023, after being involved in a road collision in Northamptonshire, 29 people never returned home safely to their loved ones, and 271 required urgent medical assistance for serious and life-changing injuries.