A teenager who killed a 78-year-old grandfather while driving a borrowed car to deliver takeaways has been jailed, as the victim's daughter described how he looked her in the eye at the scene and denied being the driver.

Terry James, 78, died after he was struck by the vehicle on Shawbury Street, Middleton, on September 29, 2024. He had left his daughter's home moments earlier to go to the shop with his ten-year-old granddaughter.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Ruhul Islam, who was 16 at the time, had borrowed the car to make takeaway deliveries. In the moments before the crash he was seen overtaking and undertaking vehicles, running red lights and weaving between lanes.

Islam, now 18 and from Chadderton, was jailed for six years and 11 months and disqualified from driving for 10 years and nine-and-a-half months. Passing sentence, Judge Kate Cornell said: "The vehicle essentially became a dangerous weapon in the hands of someone unable to use it."

Terry's daughter Caroline, a 55-year-old mum of six from Middleton, said her father was crossing the road with her daughter Daisy, who managed to get her foot on the pavement as he was hit.

Caroline said: "Otherwise, she would dead too. I ran to the scene, and Islam looked me in the eye and told me he was not the driver. I will never understand how he could lie like that. Dad and I knew him and his family, I bought food from them and yet he treated us with utter contempt."

She added: "The sentence is a joke; he will be free in three years. My whole family has been ripped apart. Daisy is traumatised, as I am. We live a 2-minute walk from the scene where Dad died and it's a constant reminder of all we have lost."

She added: "Dad was the kindest, gentlest man you could ever meet. He didn't even tell us off when we were little because he didn't like to raise his voice. For him to die so brutally breaks my heart."

Former Royal Mail worker Terry, who had four kids, lived around the corner from Caroline and her daughter Jade following his retirement.

"Dad never had a bad word to say about anyone. He never shouted or swore, he was a true gentleman. He was very friendly and he'd chat away at the bus stop or in the supermarket. After he retired, he'd have his dinner either with me or Jade. He loved a roast dinner, lasagne and spaghetti bolognese. We saw him every day, we'd take him shopping or go out for breakfast. He adored his grandkids and every Christmas he bought them all new pyjamas," Caroline said.

Terry suffered a stroke in 2021, after which Caroline said she became more protective of him and he would often stay at her house. She said he was still fit for his age.

Recalling the day her father died, she said: "I cooked a big Sunday roast. I only ever do roast parsnips at Christmas, but I did them that day and he enjoyed them. Just before 7pm, he decided to nip to the local shop for some fresh orange juice because his stomach was playing up."

"Daisy was in her pyjamas, but she wanted to go with her granddad, so she put on her coat and shoes. The shop was around the corner, and I stood at the door to wait for them. Moments later, Daisy came flying back round the corner, screaming, that Grandad had been knocked down."

"I ran to the scene, I was hysterical. Dad was on the floor, the police arrived, and they questioned Daisy. She'd been holding Dad's hand and just got her foot on the pavement as they crossed the road when he was hit."

She continued: "Ruhul Islam came over and told me his brother had been driving the car. I knew him, Dad and I had sat in the takeaway he worked and chatted to him many times. For him to lie, and to try to frame his own brother, is callous beyond belief."

Terry was taken to Salford Royal Hospital and died as a result of head trauma. Caroline said that in spite of the family gathering around him in the hospital, they "never had a chance to say goodbye".

CCTV proved four weeks later that Islam was the driver. Dashcam footage showed him driving on the wrong side of the road, undertaking and overtaking cars and running red lights before he struck Terry.

Islam told police that he taught himself to drive by watching YouTube videos, and said that he delivered takeaways using his brother's car. The court heard he did not call an ambulance after the crash and at first ran into the nearby takeaway where he worked.

Jade said: "We were all in court to see him sentenced and he showed no remorse. His lies have made what was already a tragedy into an unforgivable act of cruelty. We will never get over losing Grandad."

Caroline said: "I think the sentence is way too light; it is no kind of deterrent. He will get out when he's 21 and do the same thing again.

"We have to walk past the place where Dad died every day. Daisy is in counselling, she is scared to be by herself, she has nightmares and flashbacks. We miss him so much but thanks to Islam, we have a box of ashes in my front room.

"Please think carefully before you get behind the wheel of a car. Dangerous driving takes lives and it devastates families. Our hearts will never mend."