A DANGEROUS driver has been jailed after he mowed down a teenage student in a hit-and-run and left her to die alone in the middle of the road.

Mohammed Youssaf has been sentenced to 30 months behind bars for ploughing in to 18-year-old Emma Guilbert as she walked through Fenham in November 2018.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how the 33-year-old driver was believed to have been travelling at more than 40mph on the 30mph road when he struck the Newcastle University student at a pedestrian crossing on Wingrove Road.

The impact of the collision was so great that Mrs Guilbert’s body came to rest more than 36 metres down the road.

Mr Youssaf did not stop at the scene and instead fled the area in his Peugeot 307 – leaving Emma to die in the middle of the road.

Witnesses immediately attended to the teenager and called an ambulance. She was rushed to hospital but sadly doctors were unable to save her life and she was pronounced dead three days later.

Mr Youssaf later handed himself in and claimed that he had tried to ring 999 three times but the call failed to connect.

Police found the 999 calls had been incorrectly dialled before being manually deleted from the phone.

He admitted a charge of death by careless driving but denied causing death by dangerous driving.

The case went to trial and he was convicted of the more serious charge by a jury at Newcastle crown Court on Tuesday.

Youssaf, of Wingrove Road, Fenham, was handed a 30 month custodial sentence and a 51 month driving ban that will begin upon his release from custody.

Following the sentence, Inspector Ian Cutty, the lead investigator at Northumbria Police, said: “This is a horrendous case that has robbed a family of a loving young woman who had just taken her first steps into adulthood.

“Emma was starting an exciting new life in Newcastle but just weeks after her arrival she was mowed down by Mohammed Youssef and left to die alone in the middle of the road.

“What made his actions so deplorable was the fact that he did not even bother to rush to her aid, instead fleeing the scene in a desperate attempt to avoid justice.

“I welcome the custodial sentence handed down by the judge and hope that it brings some justice to Emma’s family who have been torn apart by this senseless killing."