Sartaj Aziz killed after being hit by a lorry
A Brierley Hill man has been sentenced to five years in prison today (Wednesday 18 December) after he admitted chasing a man, who then ran into a road and got killed after being struck by a lorry.
Self-employed Garret Fitzpatrick aged 27 from Bank Street, Brierley Hill had earlier pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 26-year-old Sartaj Aziz, who died after being in collision with a lorry in Thorns Road, Quarry Bank in August this year.
Sartaj had been involved in a dispute with Fitzpatrick at a hand car wash in Thorns Road moments before the collision took place. He ran into the path of a 38 ton articulated lorry loaded with steel and was killed instantly.
After his death Sartaj’s mother paid tribute to her son. She said: “Sartaj was 26-years-old. He was highly thought of and well respected, by not only his friends and family, but the larger community in the Lye area. I was very proud of my son and he will be missed forever and a day.”
DI Warren Hines said: “This was a terrible incident which had catastrophic consequences for the victim Sartaj Aziz and those unfortunate enough to witness events as they unfolded. I hope that the early guilty plea entered by Fitzpatrick and today’s sentence will provide some small comfort to Sartaj’s family and they are able to begin the slow process of moving on. That a young man with everything that life holds ahead of him has been killed as a result of a disagreement is truly tragic.
