UK Rapper Ghetts Sentenced To 12 Years For Drunken Fatal Hit-and-Run

British grime rapper and actor Ghetts received 12 years on Tuesday for a hit-and-run that left a Nepali student dead. 

According to HuffPost, Ghetts, whose real name is Justin Clarke-Samuel, pleaded guilty in December to the hit-and-run while driving dangerously over the alcohol limit, which caused the death of 20-year-old Yubin Tamang in north London last year. Clarke-Samuel also pled guilty to driving his “BMW M5 dangerously before the fatal incident.”

The rapper, who is well known in the U.K., was nominated for the 2024 Mercury Prize for his most recent album On Purpose, with Purpose and has collaborated with several mainstream artists, including Ed Sheeran. He also starred in the superhero show, Supacell, as Craig.

“Clarke-Samuel sat in the dock at London’s Old Bailey as prosecutor Philip McGhee said he had been drinking before driving home dangerously, running red lights and driving on the wrong side of the road,” HuffPost reports. 

Clarke-Samuel was reportedly driving 70 miles per hour when he struck Tamang, causing severe injuries and damage to his car’s windshield, but he didn’t stop to call for help. Instead, court reports claim that Clarke-Samuel continued driving eight miles to his home. 

“My son had come to this place to study. But because of someone else’s fault, he was killed at such a young age,” Tamang’s mother Sharmila Tamang said through tears and a translator. 

Clarke-Samuel’s lawyer Benjamin Aina said the rapper believed he was being followed and was scared for his life after having been robbed at gunpoint before. Aina added that Clarke-Samuel was remorseful for his actions. 

“I am fully aware that there are no number of apologies that I can say which will stop the pain that the family and friends of Mr. Tamang must feel,” said Aina who read a letter by Clarke-Samuel. 

“This young man and his family are in my thoughts daily. I cannot express the enormous feeling of guilt and shame I feel for the suffering I have caused.”

See social media’s reaction to Ghett’s sentencing below.