Dangerous driver who killed pregnant mum on M66 could face longer sentence

The sentence handed to a man whose dangerous driving on the M66 killed a pregnant mother and injured three young children could be extended.

Adil Iqbal, 22, filmed himself weaving in and out of traffic at speeds in excess of 100mph on the motorway before he lost control of his BMW and crashed into a Skoda, while it was parked on the hard shoulder.

Frankie Hough, 38, from Chadderton in Oldham, was in the car with her two sons, Tommy and Rocky, and her nephew Tobias on Saturday, May 13th, when Iqbal ploughed into them.

The family were rushed to hospital by air ambulance but Frankie and her unborn baby girl, named Neeve, died two days later.

Frankie’s son Tommy, aged nine, and nephew Tobias, aged four, were also ‘very seriously injured’ in the horror crash, but her two-year-old son Rocky was not seriously harmed.

Iqbal, of Hope Street Accrington, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and disqualified from driving at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury.

Passing sentence, the judge told Iqbal: “She [Frankie] was killed as a result of the most indescribable reckless driving by you Adil Iqbal, leading to the devastation of a family.”

Tommy and Tobias have now left hospital, where they were in critical care, but still require ongoing physiotherapy.

It has now emerged that the 12-year sentence is now being reviewed under the ‘unduly lenient scheme’, after being referred to the Attorney General’s Office by a member of the public.

The matter is now under consideration but no decision has yet been made. The Attorney General’s Office has 28 days from the day the sentence was passed to review the case.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said: “After careful consideration, the Solicitor General has referred this case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme as he agrees that it appears unduly lenient.

“It is now for the Court to decide whether to increase the sentence.”

​​If it is referred, judges at the Court of Appeal may hear the case and then decide whether or not to pass a harsher sentence.

Anyone can make a referral to the Attorney General under the ULSS, and numerous people asked for this case to be reviewed.

As reported in the Manchester Evening News, Minshull Crown Court previously heard how Iqbal had his driving licence revoked back in 2020 after being found driving without insurance. 

Four months after passing a re-test, he posted a Facebook video of himself driving a Lamborghini at ‘high speed’ on a public road in Dubai, using ‘hard acceleration’.

Two months prior to the fatal collision, Iqbal was pulled by police for ‘racing’ with another car in Lancashire while driving a VW Golf. 

Both drivers were warned their cars could be seized if they were pulled over again for ‘bad driving’.

When Iqbal hit Frankie’s car, he was driving at 92mph.

The maximum sentence for a defendant convicted of causing death by dangerous driving was recently increased from 14 years to life imprisonment.