‘My brother bumped into man who left our dad for dead – our family is destroyed’

Jazmine Bonnell was almost left lost for words when her six-year-old son spoke to her this week.

The little boy had heard about a fatal hit and run on the news – similar to the one that killed his grandfather last year.

He turned to his mum and asked: “Oh, he’s not going to jail is he mummy? People don’t go to jail when they kill people do they?”

Jazmine, stumped at the heartbreaking question, eventually found something to say in response.

She told the Daily Star: “He’s only six and I was just like, ‘No they do go to jail, we just didn’t get the right judge on the day – it was not our luck’.”

It was a poignant moment that brought back devastating memories for Jazmine.

Her father, Shakeel Sheikh, died in a hit and run near his home in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, in January 2020.

The man responsible, pastry chef Daniel Petch, mowed down Shakeel and left him dying on the road before fleeing to his girlfriend’s home.

But Petch, 28, from Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottingham, escaped prison when his nine month jail sentence was suspended for two years.

He was ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work after admitting causing death by careless driving. And in a separate case he was given eight points for failing to stop at the scene.

The sentencing took place earlier this year and Jazmine is now receiving counselling to help her cope with what her family believes is a lack of justice.

And to make things harder, Jazmine’s brothers, who live in Altrincham, have spotted Petch out on the street.

Jazmine said: “It has happened a few times. It’s one of the reasons my brother is struggling with the grieving process a lot more because he bumped into him in town.

“He was like, ‘I can’t understand it, he killed my dad’. How are we supposed to teach people that justice happens in life when we’ve just watched this man walk away from court after that?

“I know it was an accident, I totally get that, but he didn’t stop or call for help. Our dad was left like an animal in the road.”

Their father Shakeel died aged 52 and was affectionately known as ‘Superman’ after surviving five heart attacks.

He was a freelance solicitor and one month before his death, he gave a woman at a mosque £1,000 because she was struggling to feed her young family.

And Jazmine said despite being Muslim, her father loved Christmas time.

She added: “He was a right Christmas bug and he used to get all festive and he liked feeding people.

“That’s why this time of year, especially approaching Christmas and January, we are finding it hard.

“You see everyone getting together and meeting their families and it’s just unfair.”

Jazmine said her life changed forever when she was told her father was dead.

He had been run over by a Volkswagen Golf at around 3am on January 26, 2020, and later died in hospital after suffering serious chest injuries.

Petch was eventually sentenced to nine months in jail, suspended for two years, at Minshull Street Crown Court.

And Jazmine, who attended the sentencing, remembered: “I felt sick. I have never felt anything like it.

“I have worked in services all my life, I believed in the justice system and I have worked with police and social services but this shattered it all. I changed my job because I didn’t think I could help any more.”

Judge Sophie McKone said Petch had shown “genuine remorse” and described him as “honest, loyal and hardworking”.

She added: “You will have to live with the death of Mr Sheikh, as will his friends and family. No sentence can equate to the life of a human being.”

Jazmine lives with her partner and two children in Conwy, North Wales, and travels to Manchester every two weeks to visit her father’s grave.

She runs a mental health hub and has now started a petition calling for Shakeel’s Law – tougher sentences for drivers who flee crashes.

The petition reads: “A hit-run driver left our dad in the road to die alone. If he had stopped and rang 999 he may have saved him or gave us a chance to say goodbye.

“He got a fine and eight points for failing to stop and report. These guidelines need to be changed for drivers who cause death or injury on the road and don’t stop.”

The petition had almost 30,000 signatures at the time of writing and the aim is to increase sentences for drivers who fail to stop at a crash that results in death or life-changing injuries.

And Jazmine said: “We just pray people will sign the petition and support our cause. It’s not really for us, it’s for all the families that are going through it right now.”

Despite it being a sad time of year for Jazmine and her family, the legacy of her father still lives on.

She said: “I’ve had so many messages since doing the petition. I had a message from a man a few weeks ago, he was homeless and my dad took him in and got him a job and a flat. I never knew.

“Another girl got in touch because she had been in a homeless shelter and dad got her a job doing the typing.

“It did make me sad because I’d have loved to have given him a call and said ‘oh my gosh you never told me about this’.

“But it's been so nice hearing that he didn’t just help us, he helped a lot of people.”

You can read the Shakeel’s Law petition here.

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