A TEENAGER who died in a car crash was unlawfully killed, a coroner ruled yesterday.

Kiran Mahmood, 18, of Wheathouse Road, Birkby, was killed when the vehicle she was travelling in hit a wall and overturned on Boothtown Road, between Halifax and Queensbury, on October 7 2007.

Now driver Kashaf Mukhtar, 20, of Halifax, will face a charge of careless driving at Halifax Magistrates Court on August 4.

An earlier inquest found the vehicle, a Toyota Avensis, had been driven at excessive speed when it crashed on a steep hill.

Three other male youths – a 16-year-old and 18-year-old from Birkby and an 18-year-old from Queensbury, Halifax, who were in the car – were treated at Bradford Royal Infirmary for minor injuries.

Police believe the car set off from Birkby between 8.30am and 9.30am, travelled through Bradford and then passed through Queensbury before heading down Boothtown Road where tragedy struck.

Recording a verdict of unlawful killing at Halifax Coroner’s Court yesterday, Mr Whittaker said: “In these circumstances the speed of the vehicle concerned must have been so high as to be highly dangerous...

“I am sure beyond reasonable doubt that Kiran Mahmood was unlawfully killed.”

Miss Mahmood was a student at Huddersfield New College before moving to Huddersfield Technical College about one month before her death.

Her funeral took place at Birkby Mosque.

Motorists convicted of careless driving face a fine of up to 175% of their weekly income and nine points on their licence. Magistrates may also consider a driving ban.