Rawal Rehman has been jailed for 12 years after a drug-fueled crash killed a three-year-old girl during a family day out in Manchester. The 35-year-old admitted to causing death by dangerous driving after his van fatally struck Louisa “Lulu” Palmisano on February 22.
The Sun reported that Lulu had been walking with her parents along Mosley Street just before 10 a.m. when Rehman’s Mercedes-Benz van collided with a tram. The impact caused his vehicle to mount the pavement and hit the child, who was holding her mother’s hand and wearing a safety harness.
Moments before the crash, Rehman had taken a large amount of cocaine and visited two massage parlors. After the collision, he fled the scene but was later arrested at his home. Bodycam footage showed officers storming in as Rehman repeatedly apologized.
In court, Lulu’s mother gave a harrowing account of the moment her daughter was dragged under the van. She stated that the image would forever haunt her. Rawal Rehman’s history also revealed a prior conviction and prison time linked to another fatal hit-and-run, where he torched a vehicle involved in the incident.
Louisa’s parents remembered her as a kind, creative child who brought immense joy to their lives. “She was our only child, our world,” they said in an emotional statement. “We were simply enjoying a happy day together. The pain of losing her is beyond words.”
#Clique, what are your thoughts?