A Manchester City Footballer face jail term for killing two people

A Manchester City footballer could be jailed for up to five years for killing a brother and sister in a crash while speeding in his Mercedes. Courtney Meppen-Walter, 18, was driving at nearly twice the 30mph limit when he ploughed into a Nissan Micra as it pulled out of a side street. Driver Kulwant Singh, 32, and sister Ravel Kaur, 37, who was sat in the front, died in the impact. Widow Ravel’s sons, Amjid and Parveen, 16 and 17, had to be cut free from the back. They recovered from serious injuries but have been left orphaned. Police probed whether Meppen- Walter was racing a friend in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, but ruled it out. Yesterday the £1,000-a-week star, of nearby Blackley, admitted two counts of causing death by careless driving. Prosecutor Mark Kellet said: “The aggravating features are that there was more than one person killed and that he seriously injured more than one young person. “He was driving almost twice the speed limit in a built-up area, his driving falls below the standard expected.” The crash on September 1 last year came just five months after Meppen-Walter was caught speeding in another 30mph zone in Bury. His lawyers asked for the case to be dealt with by Manchester magistrates, who could have jailed him for up to six months. But the bench said the case was too serious and sent him to the city’s crown court for sentencing on February 28. His lawyer Gwyn Lewis said: “We are only talking about 10 seconds worth of driving but the consequences are enormous – yes there are aggravating features but there are mitigating features.” England Under-17 star Meppen- Walter was given a driving ban. He has been on City’s books since 2003. At the time of the crash, Kulwant was driving his sister and her children home from a Sikh temple and was due to collect his wife and two ­ children, one and three. Relative Balinder Singh, 19, said earlier: “He was a loving father – he would help anyone. "Ravel’s husband passed away a long time ago so the children have lost their father and their mother now.”