A law student who acted as a ‘drugs courier’ despite being banned from driving has been jailed after mowing down two joggers and leaving one permanently disabled.

Mohammed Qasim, 22, started ferrying drugs between suppliers as a way of supplementing his income at university, a court heard.

And he left a young woman seriously hurt, and also hospitalised her best friend, after ploughing into the two members of a running club in Bolton.

Jessica Sammon, 25, currently has to use a wheelchair after suffering a complex fracture of her knee after being struck by the stolen Ford Fiesta, which Qasim said he had hired and which he was driving on the evening of Monday March 7.

She was one of around 30 runners out on a road run on Moss Bank Way in the town when she and pal Laura Hodgson, 23, both from Bolton, were hit.

Jessica Sammon and Laura Hodgson outside court
Jessica Sammon and Laura Hodgson outside court

Qasim failed to turn as the road forked to the left and instead continued straight and hit the girls head-on before ploughing into a garden wall and overturning, Duncan Wilcock, prosecuting said.

Miss Sammon was knocked to the pavement screaming with Miss Hodgson being “catapulted” into a nearby garden he said.

Read more: Man charged after two runners seriously injured in collision in Bolton

Other runners and nearby residents rushed to their aid and called 999 with the girls being taken to Salford Royal Hospital where Miss Sammon required emergency surgery on the fracture to her knee which included the fitting of a metal frame to help the bone heal.

She will always have a form of disability in her knee the court was told and she faces up to eight months of intensive rehab to start walking feely again once the aid is removed.

The scene where the crash happened on Moss Bank Way Bolton
The scene where the crash happened on Moss Bank Way Bolton

Miss Hodgson also suffered ligament damage in her knee but a judge said it was “miraculous” the injuries weren’t more serious.

Qasim, who was later found to have cannabis in his system, was detained at the scene by bystanders before being arrested by police.

He had been banned from driving for a year the previous July for driving whilst banned, having previously acquired too many points on his licence.

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Officers’ searching the car found just over five grams of heroin in 10 individual bags, which a judge said were then to be sold on by street dealers and £807 in cash.

Qasim, of Castle Street , Bolton, pleaded guilty to charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, driving without insurance and possession with intent to supply a class A drug.

Jessica Sammon outside court
Jessica Sammon outside court

He denied charges of handling stolen of goods in relation to the car and possession of an offensive weapon, after a Cosh-type baton was also found inside, and these were left to lie on the file.

Colin Buckle, defending, said Qasim had very little memory of the crash which had also had a "catastrophic" effect on him.

He said: "He fully accepts his culpability.

"He says nothing here today in an attempt to excuse his behaviour or trivialise the significant harm that he has caused."

Before sending him down for four-and-a-half years, Judge Graeme Smith told Qasim: “It has been said that these two women were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“But it was in fact you who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, as you shouldn’t have been driving that car, or any car, as you were disqualified.

“These women never had a chance.

“You were purely motivated by financial gain.

“There are many legal ways to supplement your income as a student but you chose to ignore those.”

The scene where the crash happened
The scene where the crash happened

After the hearing running fanatic Jessica revealed how she had taken friend Laura to her first meeting on the night of the smash.

She said: “It’s hard to know how to feel really. I am pleased with the sentence though as I know he will get some form of punishment.

“I felt it was important to be here to try and get some closure.”

Doctors have said Jessica, 25, from Sharples in Bolton faces a long battle to walk freely again and recover her running ability.

However she vowed she would not let the incident dent her passion.

“I will run again, there’s no doubt about that. I love it so I’ll definitely get back, it’s just a case of how long.

Laura Hodgson and Jessica Sammon
Laura Hodgson and Jessica Sammon

She also urged others not to be deterred.

“It was just unlucky we were there at the moment.

“He could have hit anyone or even just gone straight into the wall if we’d been just a tiny bit faster or slower.

“But in another way we also feel fortunate not to have been even more seriously injured or even killed.”

Laura, 23, a team manager at Morrisons from Little Lever joked “maybe I’ll stick to the treadmill” after her first session with Burnden Road Runners, who have supported the pair ever since the incident.

Law student Mohammed Qasim
Law student Mohammed Qasim

However she said she still gets flashbacks.

“Whenever I’m driving or near cars and you can see them whizzing past I think of that car coming towards me. It’s horrible but I’m hoping over time I’ll learn to deal with it.

“I’m glad he’s got the sentence he has, I think it was deserved.

“I just want to say thank you to the Burden Road Runners who have helped us in so many ways since.”

Jessica added: “The support has been amazing.

“They’ve been like one big family and I can’t thank them enough.”

Qasim, was also banned from driving for seven and a half years