EastEnders actor who killed England cricket star’s mum fled to Dubai to escape justice

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Youssef Berouain struck the Uber that cricketer Gus Atkinson’s mother Caroline, 55, was riding home when he was traveling at 60 mph in a 30 mph zone in an Audi Q7.

After tragically killing England cricket player Gus Atkinson’s mother in a horrific vehicle incident, a former EastEnders actor escaped to Dubai.

On July 26, Youssef Berouain, 31, who was celebrating hitting four hundred and sixty-seven runs against the West Indies at Edgbaston, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. It was the conclusion of a four-year judicial battle to hold the actor accountable for his conduct, which on December 10, 2020, claimed the life of 55-year-old mother of three Caroline Atkinson.

In an attempt to conceal his ultimate destination, the United States, the deadly driver took off for Dubai following the 60 mph collision. After court proceedings in London and Los Angeles, he was ultimately deported back to the UK; however, this required intervention from US Marshals and representatives of the British Embassy in Washington.

Only recently, the terrible case’s specifics have been made public thanks to a Daily Telegraph investigation that showed how Berouain—whose acting credentials also include the 9/11 miniseries The Looming Tower and Doctors—tried to elude the law. According to Southwark Crown Court, Berouain was clocked by police as exceeding the speed limit in a 30 mph zone.

The driver was acting strangely and officers could smell cannabis when they pulled him over, but he refused to submit to a roadside test. At about 10.20 p.m., his victim had requested a Toyota Prius from Uber in Fulham.

However, Berouain’s Audi Q7, which he was driving at the time, struck the automobile when he accelerated “quickly” and used a bus lane to pass other vehicles. Caroline succumbed to her wounds two hours later.

Berouain refused to submit to a roadside breathalyzer test or to provide blood or urine samples at Hammersmith Police Station. His behavior was characterized as “erratic” at the time of his arrest. He said he was going between 20 and 30 mph and was unable to dodge the Uber when questioned by the police.

After being freed on police bail and then again while an investigation was ongoing, the actor departed the nation on January 28, 2021, departing from Heathrow Airport and traveling via Dubai to the United States. Police didn’t find out about this until seven months later, when one of their officers went to his London house to deliver charge papers for not producing a specimen.

Prior to the start of the legal proceedings that resulted in his extradition in September of last year, he was detained in the United States on July 20, 2021. This summer, Berouain ultimately entered a guilty plea to charges of driving recklessly and causing death or serious harm.

Declared a “working actor” in court documents, Berouain portrayed juvenile gang member Tayo in eight episodes of EastEnders in 2013. His agent said he had “featured in various roles on TV and film and everyone always speaks very highly of his attitude, positive personality and work ethic”.

The judge sentenced Caroline to eight and a half years in jail for her role in Caroline’s death and three years in prison for seriously injuring her friend, who was also a passenger in the car and required twenty days in the hospital to recuperate. He will have a three-year driving prohibition after being released from prison.

Atkinson, 26, solidified his place among the top players of the upcoming generation at Lord’s with two historic individual displays. He became one of just six cricketers to appear on both honours boards last week after hitting a century against Sri Lanka and taking 12 wickets on his Test debut in July, the most for an England debutant since 1890.

“Very pleased. When asked what his mother would have thought of his 118 on the second day of the second Sri Lanka Test, he replied, “She would have loved to have been here.”

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