A HALESOWEN drink driver who was racing his sports car at 100mph when he lost control and ploughed into a bus stop killing an Oldbury student has been jailed.

Sukhvinder Mannan, aged 33, was behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Revolution trying to get the better of Inderjit Singh who was driving a high performance BMW M3 and their speed terrified other road users.

The two men undertook and overtook within inches of each other on a dual carriageway which had a 40mph limit and witnesses described it as something out of a Fast and Furious film.

Rebecca McManus, 21, was on her way to a hen party with best friend Harriet Barnsley and they were hit by the Mitsubishi as Mannan “invevitably” lost control and demolished the bus shelter.

Miss McManus who was a literature, drama and creative writing student at the University of East Anglia died at the scene while her 21-year-old friend spent three weeks in a coma after suffering massive life changing injuries.

Judge Kristin Montgomery QC told Mannan and Singh it was clear they had “played cat and mouse” at grossly excessive speeds at a time when they were “consumed by the competition.”

She added, “Each of you held a desire to win that race at any cost. You drove with arrogant disregard and contempt for other road users.”

Mannan, of Roundhills Road, had admitted causing the death of Miss McManus and serious Injury to her friend by dangerous driving. He was put behind bars for eight years.

He had further admitted failing to provide police with a blood sample after his arrest and he was disqualified from driving for 10 years by the judge.

Singh, 31, of Cranbourne Avenue, Wolverhampton, had denied causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving and was cleared by a jury at the end of his five day trial.

But he did admit a charge of dangerous driving and he was jailed for a year and disqualified from driving for three years.

The judge said the two young women – childhood friends – had been embarking on life full of hope for the future.

The death of Rebecca McManus had robbed her family of the joy and pleasure they would have seen as she reached her true potential while Harriet Barnsley had been left with terrible injuries from which she would never fully recover.

The judge told Wolverhampton Crown Court: “They waited at a bus stop no doubt fully anticipating the joy of their planned evening but, by then, the defendants had engaged in racing their high performance cars.”

Hugh O’Brien-Quinn, prosecuting, said that after the tragic collision Mannan had smelled of alcohol, his speech was slurred and he provided a positive breath sample. But he later refused to give police a blood sample.

In his defence Singh maintained to the jury he had pulled out of the high speed race just seconds before the Mannan ploughed into the bus stop in Hagley Road West.

Sarah Buckingham, for Singh, said her client had slowed down before the collision.

She said: “His dreadful driving that day engaging in the race was appalling but he had withdrawn from the race.”

Gerard Stein for Mannan, who had a previous conviction for driving with excess alcohol, said he had consumed alcohol adding: “He was grossly reckless and his terrible mistake has had a terrible effect on many people.”

In a victim impact statement Catherine McManus said the death of their daughter had left the family devastated.

She said their lives had been destroyed and they had been “condemned to a lifetime of grief and suffering.”

Gerard McManus, her husband, said the sadness would never go away and all they could do now was hope that one day they would “find some sort of peace for our loss.”

Stephen Barnsley, the father of Harriet, said she had undergone more than 50 hours of surgery for her injuries and faced further operations in the future The judge told Mannan as she passed sentence: “You had drunk alcohol. How much it is impossible to judge because of your obstructive behaviour”

She told Singh the jury had accepted he took the decision to end the race seconds before the tragic collision but it was clear he had “encouraged” Mannan in the race.