The convicted drug dealer pleaded guilty to the murder of a three-year-old girl while driving recklessly shortly after being released from prison on her license.
Rawal Rehman, 35, was overstated cocaine all night when Louis Zapal Misano and his parents collided with Van on February 22nd in Manchester city centre.
The child, also known as Lulu, held both his parents’ hands when Lehmann’s car built their careers after hitting a tram. She is rushing to help the young girl, but she suffers a fatal head injury.
Lehman, who had previously served in prison after torching a car involved in another fatal crash, fled the scene in a taxi.
Rachel Shenton, who was indicted, told Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday that Lehman took “at least 20 rows of cocaine” before the collision and visited two massage parlors.
Shenton said he left one of the venues at 6am and left one of the venues at 6:30am before Mercedes Sprinter Van hit Louisa before 10am.
The three-year-old, from Burnley, Lancashire, enjoyed “Happy Family Day,” her family said. They described her as “the sweetest, kindest, most generous girl full of creativity and joy,” and she loved going to nursery school every day.”
Lehman was jailed for 11 years and three months in February 2018 and released in October 2023 after being convicted of being part of a South Manchester armed drug gang.
The judge later reduced the sentence to three years after he ruled that he should have received more credit for his guilty plea. At the time of the February clash, Lehmann is understood to have left prison with a license over drug crimes.
Abby Clark, senior prosecutor at the Crown Prosecutor’s Office, said:
“Rawal Rehman ignored the stop sign and the tram warning sign as he drove straight down the approaching tram road.
“Lemann failed to take responsibility for his actions. He escaped from the scene in a taxi, drove dangerously in interviews, denied that he would only accept responsibility during his third court hearing.
Lehman was chased by police after finding documents in the van. In a police interview, he accepted that he was driving at the time of the crash, but claimed that his driving was not dangerous. He claimed he panicked when he escaped the scene.
He was taken into custody until May 27th.
Louisa’s family previously said in a statement: “Her absence left a catastrophic void in our family. She was our only child, our whole world. We were enjoying a happy family day in Manchester when this unimaginable tragedy was struck.
