‘Supacell’ Actor and Rapper Ghetts Sentenced to 12 Years for Fatal Hit-and-Run

Award-winning British rapper and actor Ghetts has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing a 20-year-old university student in a hit-and-run collision in northeast London.

The 41-year-old artist, whose real name is Justin Clarke-Samuel, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Tuesday after previously pleading guilty to causing the death of Yubin Tamang by dangerous driving . He was also disqualified from driving for 17 years.

Tamang, a student from Nepal, died in the hospital two days after being struck by Clarke-Samuel’s BMW M5 on Redbridge Lane East in Ilford on the evening of October 18, 2025.

The court heard that Clarke-Samuel had been drinking alcohol before the crash and was one and a half times over the legal limit. He initially told investigators he had consumed three glasses of brandy with a meal at a restaurant.

Prosecutor Philip McGhee outlined a horrifying sequence of events leading up to the fatal collision. Clarke-Samuel was driving at more than 60mph in a 30mph zone when his car struck Tamang as he crossed the road. Before the crash, he failed to stop at six red traffic lights, repeatedly veered onto the wrong side of the road, mounted the kerb, and collided with both a motorcyclist and a Mercedes.

“Mr Tamang was catapulted into the air before crashing down on the roadway. He sustained catastrophic injuries,” McGhee told the court.

After the impact, Clarke-Samuel failed to stop or call emergency services, instead driving approximately eight miles back to his home in Woodford Green. An Uber driver later discovered what he initially thought was a “bundle of clothes in the road” and called 999 upon realizing Tamang was seriously injured.

Police found a damaged wing mirror casing on the road and traced the serial number to Clarke-Samuel’s vehicle. Officers later located the car near his home with significant damage to the windscreen, bonnet, and front bumpe .

In December 2025, Clarke-Samuel pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to causing death by dangerous driving and an additional charge of dangerous driving.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC said CCTV footage showed a “quite appalling litany of incidents” leading up to the fatal collision which were “simply shocking”.

In a devastating statement, Tamang’s family expressed their grief at the loss of their only child.

“We speak today with hearts broken beyond repair. Our only child, a precious soul, has been taken from us far too soon,” the family said. “Justin Clarke-Samuel has stolen our son’s future and ours with it… we can never forgive him for what he has done”.

Tamang had come to the UK to study and build a better life for himself and his family.

In mitigation, Clarke-Samuel’s lawyer read extracts of a letter the rapper had written apologizing to Tamang’s family.

“I write from a place of extreme regret, shame and remorse,” the rapper wrote. “This may be the only chance that I get to apologise. It was truly an unintentional act on my part, and I am so sincerely sorry for the suffering and emotional distress that I have caused”.

The court also heard that the defendant had 12 previous convictions for 27 crimes from the age of 16, including robbery, aggravated vehicle taking, and driving offences.

Shani Taggart of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Justin Clarke-Samuel knew he was in no fit state to drive and there was clear evidence of his excessive speed and disregard for road users as he drove incredibly dangerously across our city”.

Ghetts is best known to television audiences as antagonist Krazy in Netflix’s gritty superhero drama Supacell, created by Andrew Onwubolu, widely known as Rapman . The show, about a group of Black Londoners who unexpectedly develop superpowers, has racked up hundreds of millions of viewing hours since its launch in 2024.

Season 2 had begun filming just over a week before the fatal hit-and-run and had not yet wrapped at the time of the incident. The fate of Krazy’s character had been left ambiguous at the end of Season 1. Ghetts is not expected to return for the second season.

As a musician, Ghetts won best male act at Britain’s MOBO Awards in 2021 and has collaborated with artists including Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Skepta, Dave, and Sampha. He released four studio albums over his career.

The judge acknowledged the rapper’s remorse and community work through music, noting that “all that good work is marred by driving in drink and taking the life of another young man”.