Met Police officer who killed mum, 25, in horror crash while speeding is jailed for three years
A MET Police officer who killed a mum in a horror crash while driving at nearly three times the speed limit has been jailed.
PC Nadeem Patel, 28, was driving at 80mph in a 30mph zone while responding to a call when he ploughed into Shante Daniel-Folkes, 25.
The nail technician, who had a two-year-old son, tragically couldn't be saved and was declared dead at the scene in Brixton, South West London.
Patel was jailed for three years in February after admitting causing Shante's death.
His sentence can only now be reported following the trial of colleague PC Gary Thompson, who was convicted of careless driving after speeding at 71mph in a second police car.
Shante's mum Janine Daniel wept at the Old Bailey as the judge said Patel may serve just one-and-a-half years in custody.
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She also told how Shante was her "princess" who always had the "biggest" smile on her face in a victim impact statement.
Janine also said her daughter "adored" her son and was looking forward to opening her own salon when she was killed.
She added: "I struggle to think about the night she died when the police knocked on my door.
"You hope it never happens to you, but it happened to me and in reality the feeling is a million times worse.
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"To hear those words 'I'm sorry, she passed away' is something that will haunt me forever.
"It felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest and I remember falling to my knees and could have died on the spot."
Janine said PC Patel "does not know what he has done to me" as she told how she is "broken" and her heart is "aching".
The mum said: "I am being tortured everyday by the way her life was cruelly taken away because of his stupidity.
"[PC Patel] robbed my grandson of his mum. He has autism and doesn't know anything about death.
"He thinks his mother has abandoned him and when the phone rings he thinks it's his mum, when a doorbell rings he thinks it's his mum.
"He watches videos every day because that's all he has left of her."
The horror unfolded at around 11.20pm on June 9, 2021, as Patel drove a marked car while responding to an emergency call.
PC Thomson was leading the convey while Patel followed four seconds away as Shante crossed the road.
The mum paused as Thomson passed her at 70mph, then continued crossing before she was hit by Patel, who was too closely following his colleague and didn't have front emergency lights on.
He had turned and braked the car but still slammed into Shante at 45mph, causing serious impact injuries that rapidly caused her death.
Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward said: "Patel drove at grossly excessive speeds for significant distances.
"Even though they were not bound by the speed limit, it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in this way was dangerous, and it should have been even more obvious to him with his training.
"He was driving at an inappropriately close distance without his front emergency lights illuminated."
As well as a prison sentence, Patel was banned from driving for six years.
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Thomson will be sentenced later today.
