A driver who used his Audi as “weapon” in a horror crash that killed a 16-year-old boy has been jailed for life.
Zulkernain Ahmed, 21, carried out a deliberate attack on a group of e-bike riders in Sheffield before he fatally struck Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Taleb, 16, who had recently arrived in England from war-torn Yemen, prosecutors said. Ahmed must serve a minimum of 30 years of his life sentence.
His brother, Armaan Ahmed, 27, who was a passenger in the car, is being sentenced for manslaughter.
Abdullah had been walking along the pavement on June 4 last year when he was struck by the Audi which had mounted a kerb on Staniforth Road.
Zulkernain was targeting a group of three riders over a dispute related to e-bikes, the court was told. Prosecutors said Abdullah was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and had become an unintended victim of the attack.
The trial at Sheffield Crown Court was read a victim impact statement from Abdullah’s father, Yaser Abdullah Al Yazidi, who said: “Life in Yemen was almost impossible […] I travelled to England in search of safety and a better life.”
View 4 ImagesZulkernain Ahmed was found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Taleb(Image: South Yorkshire Police)
Mr Al Yazidi described his son as “an optimistic person who loved life and loved people”.
“He was eager to learn and integrated into the community,” he added. “He was happy to arrive in a safe country.”
Abdullah, who was “excited” to start college in September 2025, died shortly after he was hit, despite the best efforts of medical personnel at the scene and at hospital.
Abdullah was “both my son and my friend”, his father said, adding the loss has “destroyed the entire family.” “We are unable to return to our normal lives and I don’t think we ever will,” he said.
View 4 ImagesArmaan Ahmed, who had been a passenger in the vehicle, was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter(Image: South Yorkshire Police)
Prosecutor Alistair MacDonald KC told the court that one of the e-bike riders, La’Rome Divers, was the intended target for Zulkernain Ahmed.
The defendant’s Audi was “driven for a number of miles specifically in order to look for La’Rome Divers with a view to striking La’Rome Divers by using the vehicle as a weapon,” he said. “This was a revenge attack based on La’Rome Divers’ attempts to steal an e-bike.”
Jurors were told how Divers was knocked over a hedge but then refused to make a statement to police.
The court heard that a psychologist’s report found Zulkernain’s mental health conditions were “likely to have had a meaningful, but not sole, influence on the commission of the offence”.
View 4 ImagesProsecutors said Zulkernain used his Audi as ‘weapon’ in the attack(Image: South Yorkshire Police)
The report says the defendant is currently experiencing depression and anxiety and is expressing “daily thoughts of ending his life”.
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Zulkernain’s barrister, Alistair Webster, said his client had written a letter to express his apologies.
“I am sorry from the bottom of my heart,” the letter said. “I regret the actions I took that day, I wish time to turn back. I would change so many things. I am sorry to Abdullah’s family, every day I pray for them for things to get better for them. I cry every night knowing it was me. I wish I could make things better.”
Ahmed added that he has learnt CPR and chest compressions since being in prison in the hope he can “make a difference” in future.