British rapper and actor, Justin Clarke-Samuel, known as Ghetts, has admitted in court that he caused the death of 20-year-old Yubin Tamang after a late-night collision in Ilford on 18 October.
The incident happened shortly after 11.30pm, when Tamang, a Nepali student, was crossing the road in a 30mph zone where prosecutors say Ghetts was driving at more than 60mph.
He failed to stop after hitting Mr Tamang, who died two days later.
As reported by Sky News, the court heard that Mr Tamang was an only child whose family had travelled to the UK and watched the hearing from the public gallery.
Ghetts also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving in several areas of London before the fatal collision, including Tavistock Place in Bloomsbury, and parts of Camden, Islington and Hackney.
He appeared via videolink from Pentonville prison on Monday, wearing a green polo shirt, and entered his pleas at the Old Bailey.
The 41-year-old, a two-time Mercury Prize nominee and MOBO winner, has been in custody since his first appearance at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on 27 October.
He has now been disqualified from driving, with the length of the ban still to be set.
During his hearing, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said he will receive a custodial sentence, with the exact term to be decided when he returns for sentencing on 12 February 2026.
According to Sky news, Detective Inspector Mark Braithwaite from the Met’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said the guilty pleas were “a step towards justice.” He added: “Split-second decisions behind the wheel can have devastating, life-changing consequences.”
Police said Ghetts’s BMW was found in the early hours after the crash near his home in Woodford, showing extensive damage, including a smashed windscreen and a missing wing mirror cover.
Ghetts was also charged December 4 with causing death by careless driving while over the alcohol limit. He did not enter a plea to that charge or to a second count of dangerous driving.
Ghetts has had a long career in music, earning Mercury Prize nominations for his albums Conflict Of Interest (2021) and On Purpose, With Purpose (2024). He has also received MOBO and Ivor Novello nominations and appeared in the Netflix drama Supacell.
(Sky News)
