A MAN has been handed a five-and-a-half year jail term after driving away from the scene of a fatal accident in 2006.

Rajveer Sehangera, 29, of Vernon Road, Ilford, was sentenced today at Snaresbrook Crown Court after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

He was also disqualified from driving seven years.

In August 2006, Sehangera was driving in Aldborough Road South, Ilford when he hit and killed 72-year-old pedestrian Donald Fisher.

Sehangera fled the scene and the car he was driving was later found abandoned in Ladysmith Avenue.

He and members of his family then tried to cover up what had happened by disguising the identity of the driver.

Officers arrested him along with three family members on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice.

All four denied the allegations.

On January 14 last year, three members of the family admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

It was at this hearing that Sehangera admitted being the driver.

During the trial, he went back his admission and claimed to have been a passenger but the jury found him guilty.

Detective Inspector Simon Sharp, of the Met's Collision Investigation Unit, said: "This has been a particularly complex investigation, with members of the Sehangera family deliberately misleading police.

"This should serve as a reminder that those who behave in a criminal manner on London's roads will be pursued to the full extent of the law. The sentence passed shows the severity with which this behaviour is viewed by the courts.

"I hope that Sehangera's sentencing provides some closure for the family of Donald Fisher who have had to cope with the loss of a loved one in such tragic circumstances."