The families of two men who died after a TikTok influencer rammed their car off the road have spoken of their “enormous loss”.
Saqib Hussain and Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin died when their car “split in two” and caught fire after it left the A46 dual carriageway near Leicester on February 11 2022.
YouTube and TikTok content creator Mahek Bukhari and her mother Ansreen Bukhari were found guilty of their murder following a three-month trial at Leicester Crown Court on Friday.
It has been extremely painful not only losing Hashim at such a young age but also in the circumstances in which we lost him— Family of Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin
The victims, both 21 and from Banbury in Oxfordshire, were in a Skoda chased by Audi and Seat vehicles.
Bukhari, 24, was said to have taken part in the chase after Mr Hussain threatened to use sexually explicit material to expose a long-running affair he had with her 46-year-old mother Ansreen.
Speaking after the verdict was delivered, Mr Ijazuddin’s family said in a statement: “Everyone who knew Hashim loved him. His death is not just a massive loss to our family but also to our whole community.
“Hashim would always put others first and wouldn’t hesitate to help others if they needed it.
“On that tragic day, he was simply helping his friend and this resulted in his death.
“It has been extremely painful not only losing Hashim at such a young age but also in the circumstances in which we lost him.”
The family of Mr Hussain said they had been “shattered” by the “senseless act” which killed him.
They added: “We are still struggling to come to terms with the enormity of our loss.
“I do not feel that we have received justice as we have now got a life sentence.
“I never imagined that I would have to bury one of my children, that I would spend every waking moment suddenly expecting him to come back and tell me everything is OK, endlessly searching for his face whenever I am in public even though I know it is impossible.
“This grief of losing Saqib has further been compounded by having to relive the horror of my son’s death over and over again in court.”
