Grieving mum's tragic eight words after son, 12, is killed by dangerous BMW driver

A grieving mum whose 12-year-old son was killed by a dangerous driver said: "your life carries on doesn't it, and it's never the same".

Zoe Homer spoke of her heartbreak after Shazad Alam, 34, admitted causing death by dangerous driving. He careered his BMW into Azaan Khan on a busy road in Yardley, Birmingham, as the much-loved youngster attempted to cross it on his bike.

Azaan was given a blood transfusion but died at the scene on June 8, 2023. Alam, who is a Jaguar Land Rover employee, appeared in court on Thursday where, at the eleventh hour, he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He will be sentenced on November 21.

Speaking outside Birmingham Crown Court, Ms Homer told ITV News: "Your life carries on doesn't it, and it's never the same. I think [Alam] being sentenced is never going to bring Azaan back. Which is all we'd want to happen. I was 36 weeks pregnant at the time of the accident, so I gave birth three weeks after. It's just been really hard."

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Dad Jakir Khan said: "I don't know how to deal with it in my head. We had Azaan when we were quite young. He was everything that we ever had and he gave us purpose, to be honest.

"Being so young, I felt like he was not only my son, but he was also my friend as well. And all of that has been taken away from me. Every day feels like I'm alone, and I don't know how to get on with my life anymore."

On what Ms Homer will tell her other children about Azaan in the future, she said: "How funny he was; he had a great sense of humour. He was just everything to the both of us, and to all of our families. I can't describe the loss that everyone feels."

Alam, who is from Sheldon, Birmingham, was granted bail. Birmingham Live reports the main condition of bail is that Alam adheres to a tagged curfew between 7pm and 7am and that he co-operates with the probation service to prepare a pre-sentence report.

Judge Smith told Alam: "You have pleaded guilty, as you know, to a very serious offence. I will sentence you on November 21 when I have before me all the information from the prosecution and your lawyers. My current view is an immediate sentence of imprisonment is inevitable."