Berkeley cellphone store owner sentenced to 6 years for killing friend in DUI crash

OAKLAND — An El Cerrito man with three prior drunk driving convictions has been sentenced to six years in state prison for killing his friend while driving under the influence in 2022, court records show.

Nipun Ajmani, 44, pleaded no contest to drunk driving causing injury in connection with the March 12, 2022 collision in the MacArthur Maze, which killed 36-year-old Zeeshan Khan, a passenger in Ajmani’s car. He was formally sentenced in June but remains in Santa Rita Jail for now.

The story behind Ajmani’s arrest started an hour before the crash, when he and Zhan were pulled over by police in a vehicle being driven by a third person at around 1:15 a.m. The officers determined Ajmani was too drunk to drive and drove him and Zhan to the 1000 block of University Avenue in Berkeley, where Ajmani owned a cellphone store, court records show.

Police estimated that Ajmani wouldn’t be sober until around 11 a.m. and told him that, according to court records. Instead of heeding the officers’ advice, Ajmani got behind the wheel of another vehicle and was giving Zhan a ride when they rear-ended a car on the maze at around 2:20 a.m., authorities said.

Ajmani’s lawyer, Seth Morris, wrote in a probation report that an expert on collisions concluded the other vehicle created a “hazard” by coming to a complete stop on the freeway. He added that Zhan and Ajmani had been friends for 15 years.

“(Ajmani) is absolutely devastated about (Zhan’s) passing,” Morris wrote. “He is remorseful for his actions and wishes nothing but healing and recovery for the family of Mr. Khan.”

Ajmani was arrested after the crash and has remained in jail ever since. He took courses to deal with alcoholism in jail and is being sued by Zhan’s next-of-kin, according to court records.

Ajmani has three prior drunk driving convictions, all from between 2003 and 2010, according to court records.