A MECHANIC has been jailed for five years after smashing his car into a tree, in a crash that killed his friend.

Travis James Madden, 22, killed his friend Shahid Moghal in a crash in Crawley on October 14 2016.

He was convicted by a jury at Hove Crown Court of causing death by dangerous driving.

The court earlier heard the Toyota hatchback car smashed into a tree around 8pm on the A2011 Crawley Avenue killing Mr Moghal from Furnace Green, Crawley.

Prior to the trial, Madden admitted causing Mr Moghal’s death while uninsured, and five unrelated counts of dangerous driving on roads in Sussex and Surrey while riding a Kawasaki ZX6R motorcycle between June and September 2016.

Madden, of West Way, Three Bridges, Crawley, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for causing the death whilst uninsured, and six months on each of the dangerous driving offences, all to run concurrently and all concurrent to his five year jail term.

Judge Jeremy Gold told Madden: “Your mindset at the time of the collision was that you drove in pursuit of thrill-seeking, no doubt thinking you were invincible.”