06/08/2026
Two men who filmed themselves inhaling nitrous oxide while driving at speeds of up to 139mph have been jailed after killing a man on his way to work.
Uways Hussain, 20, and Usman Mahmood, 23, spent the night of 8 March racing a VW Golf through residential streets, running red lights and weaving through traffic at more than four times the speed limit while inhaling the gas from balloons. Neither was insured to drive the car.
In the early hours of 9 March, they jumped a red light and crashed into 50-year-old Sylvester Abayomi, known to friends as Syll, a delivery driver who was simply on his way to work. He died from his injuries.
After the crash, an Apple Watch automatically dialled 999.
Unaware they were being recorded, the pair were heard planning to flee and report the car as stolen rather than help the man they had hit. The judge described the recording as chilling.
Hussain was jailed for 11 years and 8 months for causing death by dangerous driving. Mahmood was jailed for 12 years and 9 months for aiding and abetting, believed to be one of the first times a passenger has been convicted of such an offence.
Nitrous oxide, inhaled from balloons and sold in the small silver canisters you see discarded on streets and in parks, is an illegal Class C drug. This is a reminder of where it can lead, and that getting behind the wheel under the influence of anything can cost an innocent life.
Source: Greater Manchester Police, BBC, ITV, Sky News
