Ghetts, the British rapper, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the death of a 20-year-old student in a hit-and-run in north-east London.
The 41-year-old artist, born Justin Clarke-Samuel, was sentenced at the Old Bailey after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and an additional charge of dangerous driving.
The court heard that Ghetts struck Yubin Tamang, a university student from Nepal, with his BMW M5 on Redbridge Lane East in Ilford on October 18, 2025. Tamang died in hospital two days later.
Prosecutor Philip McGhee told the court that Ghetts had been drinking and was about one and a half times over the legal alcohol limit.
He reportedly drove at over 60mph in a 30mph zone, ran six red lights, swerved onto the wrong side of the road, mounted the kerb, and collided with other vehicles before hitting Tamang. Ghetts then failed to stop at the scene.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC described the CCTV footage of the incident as a “quite appalling litany of incidents” and “simply shocking.”
Ghetts claimed he had driven dangerously because he believed he was being followed, but no evidence of a pursuit was found.
Police later traced debris from the crash to his vehicle, which was recovered near his home in Woodford Green with significant front-end damage.
In a victim impact statement, Tamang’s family said their “hearts [are] broken beyond repair” and added that the rapper had “stolen our son’s future and ours with it.”
The court also disqualified Ghetts from driving for 17 years.
