Ghetts admits killing student in horror hit-and-run

Rapper and actor Justin Clarke-Samuel – better known as Ghetts – has formally admitted causing the death of 20-year-old student Yubin Tamang in a late-night hit-and-run collision in east London, entering a guilty plea at the Old Bailey that now places him on a direct path towards what the Recorder of London described as an inevitable prison sentence.

Clarke-Samuel, 41, date of birth 14 October 1983, of Woodford, east London, appeared via video link from HMP Pentonville wearing a green Lacoste shirt as he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and to unrelated incidents of dangerous driving moments before the fatal collision, spanning Tavistock Place and other roads in Islington, Camden and Hackney

The court was told that just after 11.30pm on 18 October, CCTV captured Mr Tamang walking along Redbridge Lane East, Ilford, before checking for traffic and stepping into the carriageway; seconds later, Clarke-Samuel’s black BMW M5 – heavily damaged and registered in his name – struck the student with such force that he was propelled an estimated 60 to 70 feet into the air, scattering his belongings across the road, before crashing back to the ground

Clarke-Samuel did not stop

The prosecution outlined how he continued driving, later travelling dangerously through Worcester Crescent in Redbridge on his route back to his home address, where the BMW was abandoned on an adjacent road roughly 10 to 15 minutes after the impact; police arrested him at 4.40am, locating vehicle documents and the car key inside the property, officers noting the smell of alcohol on his breath as he questioned what car he was alleged to have been driving

Read more: Grime star Ghetts jailed for 12 years over deadly 60mph hit-and-run

The victim, an only child sent from Nepal to study at the University of Roehampton, was found bleeding heavily and unresponsive by a passing motorist; he died in hospital two days later, and members of his family travelled from Nepal to attend today’s hearing

Prosecutor Varinder Hayre said the force of the collision shattered the BMW’s windscreen and caused extensive frontal damage; officers recovered broken car parts and a rucksack at the scene, and witnesses described the immediate aftermath as chaotic and shocking