Man who killed charity cyclist jailed for 10 years

A man who admitted killing a cyclist as he tried to overtake on a rural road has been jailed for 10 years and five months.

Sohail Jahangir, 23, was driving a blue Audi Q2 when he hit 59-year-old nursery owner Adrian Stocks as he cycled on Denton Road in Ilkley on 2 April 2023, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Stocks, from Menston, was training for a One in a Million charity event when he was hit by Jahangir turning right to cross Denton Bridge over the River Wharfe. He died at the scene.

Jahangir, of North Avenue in Bradford, admitted causing his death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing.

He was also sentenced for a dangerous driving offence and dealing Class A drugs - both committed while he was on police bail for the first offence.

Honorary Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Rose, described the impact of Stocks' death as "huge, lasting, profound and immeasurable".

Speaking to his family in court, Judge Rose said: "You should not think the sentence I have passed should be or is intended to be a measure of the life of Mr Stocks."

He added: "My impression is that Adrian Stocks was not a man who would have grown old as others do. He was fit, strong and very active.

"No sentence this court can pass can ever be an adequate measure of the life of such a man."

In a statement read to the court by prosecuting barrister Jane Beckett, Stocks' wife of 30 years Della said his "tragic and unnecessary death" had "devastated our family".

She said Stocks had been cycling to Bolton Abbey in preparation for the charity event raising funds for under-privileged youths in Bradford, when he was killed by Jahangir.

He was cycling along Denton Road followed by Christine Pratt in a white Skoda when he signalled right to cross a bridge.

Pratt slowed down to allow Stocks to manoeuvre when Jahangir overtook her vehicle and hit Stocks causing fatal injuries to his brain.

Della Stocks described him as a "strong man in the prime of his life".

"He was a loving and devoted father to our family of three children, who are heartbroken at losing their father," she said.

The couple managed Cliffe House Day Nurseries, which runs childcare services in Leeds and Bradford, and Mrs Stocks said she had been left struggling to run the business alone.

"Adrian's absence has left a permanent void in our family and our lives," she said

Stocks' daughter Phoebe told the court "time has halted since that day".

She described him as "kind, funny, caring, loving, strong, reliable and charismatic".

"I truly believed he would be here until 100," she added.

After Stocks' death Jahangir told the police he "would never drive again" but on 11 September 2024 he committed a second offence of dangerous driving.

Judge Rose said that Jahangir driving dangerously again after the death of Stocks was "incomprehensible".

He was driving along Bolton Road when he was spotted by police overtaking a queue of traffic waiting to turn into a junction.

When a police car indicated for him to pull over he sped away leading to a six-minute police chase around Bradford city centre and Girlington.

During the chase, police estimated he had travelled at speeds of more than 100mph and run through at least three red lights, at times travelling head-on into oncoming traffic.

The drug-dealing offences, to which he also pleaded guilty, related to a period between 16 April and 12 June 2025 when police found he was using a mobile phone to advertise and sell drugs on the streets.

Defending barrister Craig McGregor said if Jahangir could "turn back the clock he would".

He said Jahangir accepted full responsibility for his actions and had made an "avoidable mistake".

"He described his actions as stupid and reckless," McGregor added.

The court heard how Jahangir was 19 at the time of the death by dangerous driving offence and was a carer for his older brother who had autism and ADHD.

In respect of the drug-dealing offences, McGregor told the court Jahangir had needed money to help his family.

But Judge Rose said Jahangir had been employed in the family business at the time and did not accept this mitigation.

He was sentenced to seven years and seven months for the offence of death by dangerous driving, 10 months for dangerous driving and two years for dealing Class A drugs.

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