Ghetts Pleads Guilty to Fatal Dangerous Driving Crash

What Happened: Grime Star's Fatal Collision

On the evening of October 18, 2025, Justin Clarke-Samuel—the 41-year-old grime artist known as Ghetts—struck and killed 20-year-old Yubin Tamang on Redbridge Lane in Ilford, east London. The University of Roehampton student, an only child from Nepal, died two days later from his injuries.

The Crash and Its Aftermath

Clarke-Samuel was driving a black BMW at over 60mph in a 30mph zone with an alcohol level more than three times the legal limit—119 micrograms per 100 milliliters of breath. Police found the significantly damaged vehicle at his Woodford home early the next morning. He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on December 8 via video link from Pentonville Prison, where he has been held since late October. He faces additional dangerous driving charges for incidents before and after the fatal collision. Sentencing is set for February 12, 2026.

The Crash Details: Speed, Alcohol, and a Student's Death

A Fatal Collision at Triple the Limit

On the night of October 18, 2025, Clarke-Samuel drove his black BMW through Ilford's Redbridge Lane at over 60mph—double the 30mph limit—with an alcohol level of 119 micrograms per 100ml of breath, more than three times the legal threshold of 35. At 11:33pm, he struck Yubin Tamang, a 20-year-old University of Roehampton student from Nepal, who died two days later in hospital.

Police found the significantly damaged vehicle at Clarke-Samuel's Woodford home early the next morning. Prosecutors added two further dangerous driving charges covering his pre-collision driving through Camden and his flight from the scene through Worcester Crescent.

Why This Case Matters Beyond the Headlines

When Fame Meets Fatal Responsibility

This case crystallizes the devastating consequences when celebrity status fails to prevent—or potentially enables—lethal recklessness. A Mercury Prize-nominated artist with two decades of acclaim now faces prison for driving at twice the speed limit while three times over the legal alcohol threshold, killing an international student whose family watched proceedings from the Old Bailey gallery. The collision has reignited UK debates about road safety accountability, particularly whether the justice system treats high-profile defendants differently when impaired driving claims innocent lives.

Beyond the courtroom, the case exposes the vulnerabilities of pedestrians in London's busiest boroughs and the irreversible toll on immigrant families who sent their only child abroad for education. Sentencing on February 12 will test whether Ghetts' cultural contributions weigh against the preventable tragedy his choices created.

What Comes Next: Sentencing and Accountability

Awaiting Sentence

Clarke-Samuel will return to the Old Bailey on February 12, 2026, for sentencing on the causing death by dangerous driving charge and two additional counts of dangerous driving from before and after the fatal collision. Judge Nigel Lickley KC adjourned proceedings to allow time for pre-sentence reports and victim impact statements from Tamang's family, who attended the November hearing.

He remains in custody at Pentonville Prison, where he appeared via video link for his guilty plea. A custodial sentence is expected given the severity of the offence—traveling at over 60mph in a 30mph zone while more than three times over the legal alcohol limit—and the tragic loss of a young life.

The case has reignited debates about celebrity accountability and road safety in Britain's music community.