Driver jailed for killing student in van crash

A van driver who hit and killed a student in central London after driving into her at speed has been jailed for eight years.

Aalia Mahomed, 20, who was in her second year of studying a physics and philosophy degree at King's College London, died at the scene of the collision on the Strand on 18 March 2025.

Christopher Jackson, from Southampton, drove an electric van into a metal gate, knocking it off its hinges, before hitting the bench where Aalia was sitting and seriously injuring two others.

At a sentencing hearing on Friday, Judge Philip Katz KC told the Old Bailey Jackson had not driven an electric vehicle before and had pressed the accelerator believing it was the brake.

In February, Jackson, 27, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Making a victim impact statement to the court, Aalia's mother Samira Shafi described Aalia as the "most amazing daughter" and said losing her had left an "unbearable void".

"We were like sisters and best friends," she said.

"We would watch TV, cook together, go to concerts together, we travelled the world together, had dinner together.

"When you lose a child, you don't just lose a presence of someone in your life, you lose a part of yourself."

Referring to Jackson, she said: "This man brought her bright future to an end.

"Instead of celebrating her graduation I'm choosing words for her gravestone."

Aalia's brother Zain described his sister as a "genius with a smile that could cut through steel".

"She was more than a sister, she was my best friend... my hero," he added.

On the morning of Aalia's death, Jackson had been instructed by his employer to pick up the electric Ford Transit van from Bush House, Aldwych, the Old Bailey heard.

As he left the site, he drove the vehicle at speed towards a set of iron gates leading to a pedestrian zone near King's College.

As the gates were forced open, bystanders Irem Yoldas and Yamin Belmessous were seriously injured by the impact.

The van then mounted a flower bed and briefly took off before hitting Aalia as she sat on a bench.

When confronted immediately after the crash, Jackson said he had "had no control" and the van "just took off", the court heard.

Judge Katz told the court he was satisfied the defendant was "taken by surprise" as soon as he put the vehicle in motion, and added it was accepted he used the accelerator, believing it was the brake.

He also said he accepted the defendant's remorse was "immediate and genuine", adding:

"You've been a hard working father of three young children, they and your partner will also be impacted by your prison sentence."

Jackson was jailed for eight years for causing death by dangerous driving, and three years each for the two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, which will run concurrently.

Jackson was told he would serve two-thirds of his sentence before being released on licence.

Roy Pershad, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This was a catastrophic crash which claimed the life of Aalia, a young woman with her whole future ahead of her, and left two other people with life changing injuries."

He said although the crash resulted from "pedal confusion", Jackson's driving fell "far below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver".

Det Ch Supt Donna Smith, from the Metropolitan Police, said: "Our thoughts, as always, remain with Aalia's family and friends.

"We would also like to share our thoughts with the two other victims, whose lives have been forever changed. They continue to show remarkable courage, and we know their lives will never be the same."