Teresa Ryan, whose son Jack was killed by a speeding driver who fled to Pakistan, is campaigning for a change in bail law requiring defendants facing serious offences to surrender their passports. Rashad Ali, 29, from Slough, Berkshire, was convicted in his absence of causing death by dangerous driving and jailed for five years, but had already left Britain because he retained his passport.
Fatal crash and flight
Jack Ryan, a 29-year-old Aston Villa fan and marketing executive from Sutton Coldfield, was out jogging near Battersea Bridge in west London on January 13, 2021, when Ali struck him while driving a Range Rover at almost double the 20mph speed limit. Ali fled to Pakistan before standing trial and is believed to have married and travelled abroad, including to Dubai. The victim was due to become a father.
Campaign for justice
Jack's sister Ciara launched the passport campaign. Their mother Teresa told BirminghamLive that her family 'would have been able to move on' had justice been served. 'I would have been happy if he had served his sentence,' she said. 'We've said all along that Ali didn't go out that morning to deliberately kill Jack. He made a couple of very bad choices in his driving which caused the accident. If he stood in court, acknowledged his mistakes, and taken the sentence, that would have been almost acceptable for us.'
Teresa added: 'We would have been able to move on if he had taken his sentence. Because that hasn't happened, you just think this is so unfair that he is living a life. We think Mr Ali married in Pakistan and is making a new life for himself. We have no faith he will ever return to this country, voluntarily.'
Petition and legal change
The petition currently has 1,800 signatures. Teresa said a change in law would bring 'some sort of message from Jack that something good has come out of this'. She said: 'The bail law is fundamentally flawed. People need to be aware that, just because someone is meant to appear in court, it doesn't mean they will. People should not be able to go to another country and walk away from their responsibilities. The law would bring me some sort of message from Jack that something good has come out of this which will help other people.'
She continued: 'It's an empty situation when you go to court and you know the person isn't going to pay the price because he's not there. I wouldn't want anyone to go through this.' The family thanked journalist Rob McGibbon for helping share Jack's story on Channel 4 show Dispatches.
