A lying driver who claimed she was asleep when her friend died in a 143mph Lamborghini crash has been arrested after she skipped her sentencing hearing.
Humaira Batool, 26, was facing jail at Leeds Crown Court today after she was convicted of causing the death of Mohammed Shaan Hussain, 20, by dangerous driving.
The pair had been driving erratically in the £220,000 Urus supercar in wet conditions in the early hours of December 21, 2022.
During Batool's trial, jurors heard that Mr Hussain, of Bradford, had hired the vehicle to collect a friend from Leeds prison.
Batool claimed she had been sleeping in the passenger seat when the car crashed through a barrier on the M62 near Ripponden, West Yorkshire.
The car overturned and burst into flames with Mr Hussain trapped inside as motorists desperately attempted to rescue him.
But CCTV had captured the pair swapping seats at traffic lights shortly before the fatal collision, showing Batool had taken control of the vehicle.
After being confronted with the evidence, she admitted driving but claimed Mr Hussain had been fiddling with the controls inside the Lamborghini, causing it to repeatedly 'surge' in speed.
Humaira Batool at Leeds Crown Court... she initially claimed she was asleep in the passenger seat at the time of the crash
Mohammed Shaan Hussain died when the Lamborghini burst into flames after crashing
Footage shown to the jury showed Batool leaving the passenger seat and taking the driver's seat
A Lamborghini expert told the court there was no feature that would cause the car's speed to increase in such a way, other than a person's 'right foot'.
Batool, of Bradford, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving in September.
She was due to appear for sentencing today but failed to show up, claiming a flare-up of endometriosis prompted her attendance at A&E in the early hours of the morning.
But Judge Ray Singh dismissed her claims and issued a warrant for her arrest.
He said he believed Batool was deliberately 'avoiding being dealt with, by way of sentence.'
She was arrested at Bradford Royal Infirmary this afternoon and transported directly to Leeds Crown Court in a police vehicle.
When she finally appeared in the dock, Judge Singh told her that her failure to attend was 'unforgiveable.'
He said: 'It was fairly obvious you weren't going to attend, from email traffic seen over the weekend.
'For you to have deliberately, in my view, got to a position where you weren't going to attend this morning is unforgivable. The deceased's family are here.'
The compulsive liar was denied bail ahead of her new sentencing hearing on Tuesday after prosecutor Christopher Dunn revealed she had attempted to con the jury and judge at her trial into believing her injuries were so severe she could not walk unaided.
Batool struggled into the witness box using crutches, but Mr Dunn told Judge Singh that weeks earlier, Batool had uploaded photographs to social media showing her walking in high heels while wearing a ball gown at a beauty event.
Mr Dunn said he didn't want Judge Singh to be 'misled' as he considered bail, saying the ball gown photographs showed Batool could not be trusted.
Earlier, Mr Dunn described Batool's hospital admission as a 'ruse', adding: 'The defendant has lied from first to last and has attempted, on a number of occasions, to thwart the proceedings. It is entirely clear that she is trying to avoid justice.'
Batool's trial heard that, following the crash, the car was engulfed by a 'very significant explosion' with Mr Hussain trapped inside the vehicle.
Batool told witnesses the flames had melted the seatbelt, enabling her to escape the vehicle.
She was left with serious injuries, including burns to around 10 per cent of her body and a shattered tibia.
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