Two strangers jailed for Rowley Regis road race crash that killed elderly woman

Two men have been jailed after killing an elderly woman in a collision in Rowley Regis.

Surinder Kaur, aged 81, died after she was hit by a vehicle on Oldbury Road on 13 November, 2022. Arjun Dosanjh, aged 26, was driving a blue Mini and Jacek Wiatrowski, aged 51 was driving a black BMW.

The pair, who didn’t know each other, pulled up at traffic lights in their vehicles next to each other and decided to race. Both vehicles were travelling at high speeds, significantly exceeding the speed limit.

CCTV footage showed Wiatrowski heavily braking as he spotted Mrs Kaur crossing the road. He narrowly missed her but caused Dosanjh to swerve on the wrong side of the road, avoiding the BMW but hitting Mrs Kaur.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing. At Wolverhampton Crown Court on 8 January, Wiatrowski of Pine Avenue, Wednesbury and Dosanjih of MacDonald Close, Oldbury, were each jailed for six years and banned from driving for eight years.

In a victim statement read out to the court, Mrs Kaur's family said: "Our mum lived a very simple life. She was a deeply religious woman and on the day of the accident she was on her way home from the Guthwara.

"The days and weeks after mum’s death were really tough; as well as trying to come to terms with our loss we had to deal with an ongoing police investigation. My first thought every morning is of mum, my last thought every night is of mum. These thoughts are not happy memories, but the thought of the pain she must have experienced in those final moments of her life.

"These thoughts haunt all of her family. We are all trying to come to terms with the loss of our mum, we have all gone through so many different emotions but ultimately we are all just sad.

"Sad that every milestone we celebrate as a family will be filled with sadness as our mum will not be there.”

Police statement

Detective Sergeant Chris Ridge, from the force's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "Mrs Kaur was on her way back from her local Gurdwara - the journey she made every day and was killed during her daily routine.

"She was devoted to her faith and family and my thoughts are with her loved ones who have been deeply affected by her death.

"Wiatrowski and Dosanjh did not know each other and were driving competitively - this dangerous and foolish action has cost a life. The sentence imposed will never fill the void left in Mrs Kaur's family and I extend my heartfelt condolences to them."