A man accused of causing an Oldham girl’s death in a horror crash has insisted he only drove the way he did because he was being “chased” by another driver and in fear for his life.

Omar Choudhury is accused of causing death by dangerous driving after he crashed into and killed college student Alisha Goup in February.

He is currently on trial at Manchester Minshull Street Court alongside Hamidur Rahman who has been charged with the same offence.

Both men deny the charges against them.

On the third day of the trial on Wednesday Choudhury took to the stand and told jurors that the co-accused was “chasing” him on the day of the crash.

Prosecutor Henry Blackshaw said in his opening that it is the prosecution’s case that Rahman’s driving was a “contributory factor” in how Choudhury drove and why he drove the way he did.

When questioned by defence barrister Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe, who is representing him, Choudhury, described his relationship with 23-year-old Rahman as “civil” and said he met him in 2018 after his sister got married to his mum's brother's son.

Choudhury, who was working part-time as an ambulance driver while studying for a biomedical degree before his arrest, said that he never got to know Rahman personally but that he did use his car wash on “three or four” occasions.

The 22-year-old said that in December 2022 he received a message from Rahman asking him about how he knew a girl who was Choudhury’s best friend's sister.

Choudhury said that he then told her brother, who he is friends with, that Rahman was talking to his sister.

He alleges that when Rahman found out he had told him he began “threatening” him.

He told the jury that Rahman, of Tilbury Street, Oldham, told him: "I'm gonna cut your eyes out.

"I'm going to stab you when I see you. Give me £5,000 or your mum’s gold.”

Choudhury said he did not contact the police about Rahman’s threats because he did not want to cause “problems for the family” and he thought his family would “resolve the situation”.

Turning to the day of the crash, Choudhury said he was driving home from the bank in Oldham when Rahman pulled up next to him in his car.

He said Rahman gave him a “death stare” and “threatened” him verbally so he took a left onto Chadderton Way to “shake him off” but Rahman then overtook him and blocked the road.

Choudhury said Rahman then got out of his car and began running towards him with a weapon.

At that point Choudhury said he reversed onto Rochdale Road and Rahman began pursuing him.

Choudhury told the jury: "I'm thinking that because he blocked me, if he blocks me again, I'm dead.

"In my mind, I'm thinking I've got to get out of this situation. I told my mum I was coming home. I had to get as far away as possible from him.

"I'm fearing he's going to kill me. I was doing anything I could to get out of the situation."

He then told the jury that he went into “survival mode”, adding: “Because it happened so fast it felt like it was bumper to bumper. That's why I drove how I did in case he blocked me in again."

Choudhury said that he believed Rahman was behind him up until the crash and that the “only reason” he would have accelerated on Rochdale Road would have been to get away from him.

The jury was previously told that Rahman turned off Rochdale Road onto a side street six seconds before the crash.

After Ms Devans-Tamakloe’s line of questioning, defence barrister Sarah Magill, who is representing Rahman, put to Choudhury that before he reversed into Rochdale Road, he drove towards Rahman to be “aggressive”.

Choudhury denied this and said he was in fact moving out of the way of a taxi. Ms Magill pointed out to the court that there is no CCTV footage of the taxi.

Following Ms Magill’s questions, Mr Blackshaw said to Choudhury: "You raced off like an idiot, didn't you?"

Choudhury replied: "This wasn't a racing situation."

"This wasn't a race I was fighting for my life. I don't see how you see this as a race.”

When questioned about the videos played to the court that showed him driving at excessive speeds on previous occasions Choudhury acknowledged he had been “foolish” and “stupid” but that as the roads were “empty” he thought it was “less reckless”.

In one of the videos Choudhury is shown driving 156mph.

Choudhury, of Broadway, Royton, also admitted that he had lied to the police in an interview about not knowing about the modifications made to his car and said he had spent “a few thousand pounds” on the alterations.

He told the jury that he had “panicked”, adding: “I didn't want the modifications to be taken as having a role in this situation. That's why I lied."

Referring to his car, Choudhury later said: “I thought they're going to think someone is using it to race and stuff."

Mr Blackshaw put to Choudhury that his claims he was “in fear of his life” on the day of the crash which killed 16-year-old Alisha were also a “big fat lie” but Choudhury refuted this.

Commenting on whether his perception of what happened on the day of the crash had changed, Choudhury told jurors: "I was being chased. I know what happened that day."

He later added: "Obviously a girl has passed away and I'm deeply sorry about that.

"I do wish I could go back and change what happened and think about it every day.

"At the end of the day, I think someone passed away. No one needed to pass away over this petty situation."

The trial continues.