No jail term could end our grief, say family of mother killed near home

Relatives of a young mother who was run down and killed by a family friend said today that no jail sentence would take away their grief.

New driver Olugbenga Shofolahan, 44, has been warned that he faces jail for hitting Tamika Malo, 30, as he backed out of her drive at “great speed” after returning Ms Malo’s daughter Taleyah, then seven, from a sleepover.

Ms Malo, a teaching assistant, returned to her Stoke Newington home by taxi to meet her daughter. As she paid the fare, Shofolahan’s Honda Civic shot across the road.

Shofolahan, who had only just passed his driving test, at first denied causing death by dangerous driving but changed his plea to guilty on the second day of his trial at Snaresbrook crown court on Wednesday.

Dwight Denis, a plasterer and Ms Malo’s partner of 11 years, has been left to raise their daughter with the help of her grandparents.

Today, his brother said the family was relieved the case was over, but that no sentence would take away their grief.

Carl Davis said: “I feel for the guy. He might get locked up away from his children. The anger in me says he should be in jail, but the human in me says it was an accident. He never meant to do it. The main thing for me is that Tamika isn’t here.

“The past year has been hard, coming to grips with it, rallying around Dwight and supporting him as much as we can. Their daughter is Dwight’s strength. We all draw strength from her. She is the spitting image of Tamika from every angle. When you look at her it stops you in your tracks.

“Dwight has not been the same since. He says the trial was a bit of closure, but Tamika is still gone. I knew Tamika very well, she was a second mum to our kids. I’ll remember her laugh, her spirit. She was an uplifting person.”

The taxi driver told police that Shofolahan, from Hackney, was not looking where he was going as he reversed into Lordship Road in Stoke Newington in October 2013.

James Brown, prosecuting, said: “All of a sudden, at great speed, he moved backwards and hit the side of the vehicle. It seemed to him that the defendant was not in control of the vehicle and at some point, it’s not entirely clear when, the defendant’s car hit Ms Malo. It then shot across the road about 18 metres, where it crashed.”

Sentencing was adjourned until March 31 while reports are prepared.