Brothers jailed after pedestrian fatally struck in Brierfield and attempts made to cover it up

Monday, March 23, 2026

Two brothers have been jailed after a pedestrian was fatally struck by a car in Brierfield and attempts were later made to cover it up.

Just before 8.30pm on 31st March 2024 a black BMW 5 Series, which was being driven by defendant Rizwan Mehdi (pictured below), attempted to overtake two vehicles on Colne Road in Brierfield.

However, Rizwan Mehdi lost control of the BMW, weaving between the vehicles he was attempting to overtake. He then left the carriageway and collided with a bus stop and a stone wall of an adjacent premises.

Tragically, 57-year-old pedestrian Alan Lee was sat in the bus stop at the time and received fatal chest injuries as a result of the collision.

Two minutes after the collision, a passing ambulance on the way to an unrelated emergency call came across the collision and stopped to give medical assistance.

They initially treated a man claiming to be the driver of the BMW in the back of their ambulance, assessing him for potential injuries.

Whilst doing so, members of the public made paramedics aware that they had located Mr Lee in the wreckage of the collision and urgent medical attention was given to him.

As that was being done, Rizwan Mehdi fled the scene, having not provided his name or any details to the paramedics.

Sadly, Mr Lee’s injuries were unsurvivable and he was pronounced deceased in the back of the ambulance.

Ten minutes after the collision had occurred, Rizwan Mehdi’s brother and co-defendant Kashif Mehdi called our Force Control Room to report his BMW as having been stolen by an unknown individual from outside a property around half a mile away from the scene.

He claimed to have been chasing the BMW prior to the collision. As a result, Kashif Mehdi, and a second individual who was later released no further action, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

At 1.45pm the following day, while Kashif Mehdi was still in custody, Rizwan Mehdi attended Greenbank Police Station and admitted he was driving the BMW at the time of the collision. As a result, he was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving – an offence he was later charged with.

Despite his brother’s admission, Kashif Mehdi (pictured below) called his insurance company on 5th April 2024 to make a claim for his vehicle. In this claim, Kashif Mehdi maintained that the BMW had been stolen. He was later charged with perverting the course of public justice and fraud by false representation.

Our enquiries proved that Rizwan Mehdi was driving the vehicle at the time of the collision, and that he had been driving dangerously and at speed through Nelson and Brierfield in the build up to it.

Rizwan Mehdi, 36, now of no fixed address but formerly of Commercial Street, Brierfield, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He appeared in the dock at Preston Crown Court on 20th January where he was jailed for six years and disqualified from driving for 10 years.

Kashif Mehdi, 42, now of no fixed address but formerly of Montcliffe Crescent, Manchester, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of public justice and fraud by false representation. He appeared in the dock on Friday (20th March) was jailed for 20 months.

In a victim impact statement to the court, Mr Lee’s dad wrote: “Alan only visited us the day before he died. He spent 4 and a half hours here talking, we cannot remember what we talked about but we are really glad we had this visit. His mum remembers as he was leaving he would always kiss her on the cheek and on that day his mum put her hands on his face and said 'you know I love you'. This is the last thing we ever said to him.

“Alan turned 57 years old the week before he died. In a strange set of coincidences Alan came into this world on Good Friday and left on Easter Monday.

“Alan loved nature and being outdoors. He was really well liked and well thought of within his circle of friends.

“Nothing can bring Alan back but maybe his death can mean something and contribute to society. If deterrence is an effective tool, maybe other families in the future could be spared the hurt and trauma that we have been through resulting from the illegal, irresponsible, dangerous and frequent misuse of high-performance vehicles within our area.

“Maybe that would be a small comfort to set against the loss of a son?”

 

 

 

Sgt Martin Wilcock, a Senior Investigating Officer in our Road Policing Unit, said: “This case is yet another tragic example of the consequences of driving high-powered vehicles dangerously and recklessly. Prior to the fatal incident, Rizwan Mehdi was using the streets of Nelson and Brierfield as his own personal racetrack, and it was ultimately an ill-judged, reckless manoeuvre which ultimately led to an entirely avoidable collision.

“As a result, Alan Lee tragically lost his life. And while paramedics were desperately working to try and save Alan’s life, the man responsible for his death fled the scene. He only identified himself as the driver the following day while his brother was sitting in a cell for the crime Rizwan had committed.

“Although not responsible for that crime, Kashif Mehdi did his best to cover his brother’s tracks, in an attempt to thwart our investigation and deny justice to Alan’s family. Firstly by calling the police to lie about his car being stolen, and then repeating that lie to his insurance company – despite Rizwan having already come forward – for his own financial gain.

“While nothing will ever bring Alan back, I would like to echo the words of his father in that hopefully his son’s death will make others think twice about driving dangerously in high-powered cars. As in this case, the results can have tragic consequences.

“Finally, I would like to praise the investigation team for the tenacity they have shown in getting justice for Alan’s family.”