Darnall crash: 5 years since toddler, his dad and two others were killed in horrific collision in Sheffield

He should be six years old now, enjoying playing and learning with classmates in Year 2 of infant school.

Instead next month marks the five-year anniversary of 16-month-old Muhammed Usman bin Adnan's death - killed in November 2018 alongside his father and two family friends in a horrifying car smash in Sheffield.

The toddler and his dad, 35-year-old Adnan Jarral, had been on a visit to London together, and were almost safely back home, when their vehicle was hit by a stolen car careering out of control with lawless yob Elliott Bower at the wheel.

Mr Jarral's VW Touran people carrier was so mangled its roof had to be cut off, and belongings from the vehicle were strewn across the road.

Grandparents Vlasta Dunova and Miroslav Duna, a married couple aged 41 and 50, were also killed in the smash, while Usman's mum Tahreem, 32, the older couple's daughter Nikola, 22, and her three-year-old little girl Livia, all suffered devastating injuries.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, who jailed Elliott Bower along with his brother Declan and accomplice Mason Cartledge, described the smash as 'breathtaking in its horror'. He said it was 'one of the worst examples of dangerous driving' it had been his misfortune to consider.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, little Usman's mum said: "We didn't deserve this." She described her husband Adnan, who was 'full of life', humble and polite, and worked hard in a factory to provide for his family, as 'a great father and husband'.

The Bower brothers, on the other hand, were 'miserably wretched local criminals', already wanted by police for a string of serious crimes.

Elliott, now aged 24, was wanted for questioning over a serious assault, failing to attend court, and failing to have a drugs assessment.

Declan, now 28, was wanted over an attempted murder, serious assault, and driving while disqualified.

Police said the pair, from Harborough Avenue, Manor, thought they were 'above the law'.

Wanted pair had 'taunted' police before crash

Two weeks before the crash, South Yorkshire Police had launched a media appeal to ask for the public's assistance in finding them.The brothers responded by posting a picture of themselves on social media, mocking officers' efforts to find them. Prosecutor Richard Wright QC said the post, on Facebook, was 'a deliberate and gratuitous taunt' to police.

The fatal crash happened after Elliott Bower, with his brother and Cartledge as passengers, got behind the wheel of a stolen VW Golf with cloned licence plates and led officers on a 100mph chase through Sheffield.

The pursuit lasted five minutes, over nearly six miles and along the Parkway in wet conditions - and ended when the Golf hit Mr Jarral's black Touran at 79mph as it turned into Bannham Road, off Main Road in Darnall, on November 9, 2018.

The force of the crash shoved the people carrier along the road, colliding with three other vehicles.

Elliott Bower, who initially denied he was the driver and tried to run away, admitted four counts of death by dangerous driving and three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and was sentenced at Doncaster Crown Court to 11-and-a-half years behind bars.

Brothers 'thought they were above the law'

His brother - who was trapped in the back seat with a broken leg and wrist - and Cartledge, now 23, of Severnside Place, who both admitted aggravated vehicle taking in which death was caused, were each sentenced to seven years and 10 months.

Declan Bower, who was 'causally smoking a cigarette' in the back of the car when he was arrested, also admitted possession of a blade.

Elliott Bower was banned from driving for 15 years and nine months after his release.

After the brothers were locked up in January 2019, Detective Chief Inspector Phil Etheridge said: "Both Elliott and Declan Bower had been wanted for some time. Both clearly thought they were above the law."