The unrepentant killer driver who fled to Pakistan after mowing down jogger claims he's 'terminally ill' and 'feels sorry' for his victim's family

By AIDAN RADNEDGE, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 11:18, 17 August 2026 | Updated: 11:22, 17 August 2026 A speeding driver who killed a jogger then fled to Pakistan has claimed to be terminally ill and insisted he feels sorry for the victim's distraught family. Rashid Ali, now 32, was going at twice the 20mph speed limit when his Range Rover Sport struck marketing executive Jack Ryan near London's Battersea Bridge. Mr Ryan, 29, was out for a run but suffered catastrophic injuries and died at the scene, on the evening of January 13 2021. Ali failed to attend his Old Bailey trial and was convicted in his absence of causing death by dangerous driving. He also failed in September 2024 to attend court where he was sentenced to five years in prison – though has since shared social media footage of him enjoying life, including his wedding, in his homeland Pakistan and also Saudi Arabia. Mr Ryan's family has been left distressed by his killer not facing up to his projected time behind bars – with Ali claiming to be terminally ill with tuberculosis 'and other health issues'.  The victim's partner Liz Austin has now written in the Daily Mail on Monday about her ongoing trauma following the death – and also how she had his daughter via IVF almost a year after the tragedy, using frozen embryos he consented to be used. She is campaigning for laws to be changed so that people facing serious criminal charges must surrender their passport – something that did not happen with Ali when on bail, allowing him to travel to Pakistan and not return. Rashid Ali was going twice the 20mph speed limit when his Range Rover Sport fatally struck marketing executive Jack Patrick Ryan near Battersea Bridge in west London in 2021 Liz Austin has told the Daily Mail of her grief for partner Jack Ryan and is also campaigning a law change meaning people charged with serious crimes should have passports taken away She said: 'There has been zero accountability and he remains on the run. 'There is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan – though individual requests are sometimes granted – and as it stands Rashid Ali has got away with it. 'We all went through a great deal of heartache preparing for the trial, only to realise it was essentially pointless.' She and Mr Ryan's family have set up a 'Justice for Jack' petition, calling for an amendment to the Bail Act to ensure mandatory passport surrender for people accused of serious crimes. Ms Austin added: 'We need 10,000 signatures before the end of the year for the Government to respond. 'It makes a mockery of the whole expensive, time-consuming legal process if a convicted criminal is able to simply skip the country and avoid serving their sentence. 'I know nothing will bring Jack back but I do want justice for him. And for our daughter.' Ali was challenged by Channel 4's Dispatches programme broadcast in March this year, after his social media accounts displayed aspects of his life abroad – including his wedding celebrations. Jack Ryan, 29, who died in the crash near Battersea Bridge, was an avid Aston Villa supporter His partner Liz Austin holds their baby daughter, who was born via IVF in December 2021 He was interviewed by the programme's Matt Shea at a time he said he was in Saudi Arabia doing the Islamic pilgrimage Umrah. Ali also claimed to be terminally ill with 'tuberculosis and some other health issues' though insisted he would return to the UK in 2027.  When asked why he had not yet come back to Britain, Rashid said: 'Yeah, I was terminally ill and still I am. 'Tuberculosis and some other health issues, but I will not disclose to anybody that I don't know yet.' Having managed to travel from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia yet still not fulfilled his promise to make it to the UK, Ali added: 'I definitely will travel to London, mate, and I've told them I'm coming back in 2027.' He suggested that authorities were 'happy with that'.  Rashid added, of Mr Ryan's family: 'I feel sorry for them and I definitely will face justice, mate, yeah. Everyone will see. I will let you enjoy the rest of your day.'  Ali had been in Britain on a student visa before travelling back to homeland Pakistan. Jack Ryan's parents Noel and Teresa Ryan, his sister Ciara Ryan and partner Liz Austin have told of being left 'shattered' by their loss and called for his killer to face justice in the UK Mr Ryan's sister Ciara told Dispatches: 'We could have shown forgiveness if he'd taken accountability. There was none of that there. 'I would like Rashid Ali to come back of his own accord. He said he would come back and face consequences if found guilty. 'He was found guilty unanimously. If that's not the case, I would like the government to support us in bringing him back. 'And really I would like it to be the case that people facing serious charges and custodial sentences aren't able to have their passport and then essentially abscond as has been the case for us. 'Having been someone that's never been involved with the justice system before, I had a lot of faith in it in the UK. 'I was a believer in that it worked. It's not working. It hasn’t worked for five years for my family.' Mr Ryan's family previously criticised the sentence given to Ali in his absence. In a statement after the 2024 trial, they said: 'The pitiful sentence handed down today to Mr Ali is an insult not only to our family but to all families who experience the trauma of having a loved one's death caused by dangerous driving. Ciara Ryan, whose brother Jack Ryan was run over and killed, wants people facing serious charges and potential jail terms to be denied their passports for fear they could abscond 'The leniency of the sentence is made all the worse by the fact that Ali completely avoided his original trial by absconding to Pakistan and has today compounded our grief and his own shame by not showing at court today for his own sentencing. 'Ali has shown zero empathy and zero compassion for our family and by taking the coward's way out at every step of the way he has avoided any accountability which has inflicted even more pain for everyone who loved Jack.' Mr Ryan's parents Noel and Teresa Ryan, his sister Ciara Ryan and partner Ms Austin said they had been left 'shattered' by their loss. In a joint statement, they said: 'We all carry the trauma of what happened to Jack with us every single day of our lives. We live with a constant, unshakeable anxiety that the very worst could happen at any moment - because we have had the worst happen to our family. 'As well as losing a son, brother and friend, a beautiful little baby girl will never get to meet her father. Everyone who knew Jack from all areas of his life misses him deeply and we will all forever cherish his memory.' They thanked those who had supported them, and added: 'Jack was the person who everyone was lucky to have in their life. He was a funny, kind-spirited man with a great love for life and a fierce love for his friends, his partner Liz, his family and his beloved Aston Villa. 'Jack was the perfect combination of a big kid at heart with a sensitivity at his core that made him love and care for those around him so deeply.' Previously, Ali's barrister James Scobie had read out an email in which the defendant relayed his 'great stress' and 'anxiety' and apologised to 'everyone he had let down'. Ali wrote: 'I feel very ashamed of myself and have assassinated my own character.' Sentencing Ali to five years in prison, as well as a five-and-a-half year driving ban, Judge Judy Khan said she had received a letter from the defendant in which 'he stated that he does intend to return at some point to serve his sentence'. The judge added: 'I am unable to accept that assurance.' CCTV footage of the collision showed Mr Ryan was struck and thrown into the air before landing on the front of the Range Rover. The surface of the road had been wet and the defendant had been travelling at speeds of between 39mph and 41mph in the 20mph zone, prosecutor Philip Stott said. When Ali's vehicle was about 50m away from traffic lights they had changed from green to amber, which would have given him time to stop, jurors heard. Following the collision, the defendant claimed Mr Ryan had run across the road in front of his car, leaving him no time to apply the brakes, the court heard. However, Mr Stott said that the Highway Code clearly stated that an amber light required a driver to stop at the stop line. A driver could only continue if the amber light appeared after the vehicle had crossed the stop line or if pulling up might cause an accident. Mr Stott said: 'There was no other vehicle travelling so close behind Mr Ali's car that it might cause an accident if he were to stop at the amber light in the normal way. 'He had plenty of time to stop safely and he was, therefore, obliged to do so by the rules of the road. 'Instead, the defendant broke those rules and, in doing so, caused the death of Mr Ryan.' Following the verdict, Joe Dodman of law firm HCC, said: 'Jack's family have shown incredible strength and dignity in the face of overwhelming grief and trauma. 'Not only have they lost someone truly special in everyone's lives but they have to try and move forward knowing the perpetrator has been handed a sentence far less in duration than most people would naturally expect. 'The fact he wasn't present to face them either in court at the trial or today at sentencing hurts the family even more. 'Those who are convicted of the serious criminal offence of causing death by dangerous driving should be required to face the consequences of their own actions and compelled to face their multiple victims.'