IN THE NEWS
CHESTER TAXI DRIVERS IN RENTED CARS SPED AWAY FROM WEDDING AND PLOUGHED INTO A MUM-OF-TWO
Two “thrill-seeking” taxi drivers have been jailed after being involved in a horror crash which has left a mum bare- ly able to walk. The Manchester Eve- ning News reports that Mohamed Haq, 26, and Muazzem Husain, 25, were doing more than double the speed limit when they were involved in a three- way smash with the innocent woman’s Toyota Yaris. She broke her back in what was has been a “life chang- ing injury”, a court
heard last month. Haq and Husain, both from Chester, were guests at the same wedding in Oldham town centre on April 10 last year and had hired cars for the occasion, the court was told – Haq a White BMW M3 and Husain a grey Jaguar E-Pace. However they both contributed to the “devastating” colli- sion as they left and sped along Manch- ester Street where it becomes Manch- ester Road after passing the King Street roundabout
just after 7pm. The 39 year-old mum-of-two was heading to drop off food for her hus- band who worked close to the scene of the crash, when she was struck. The court was told taxi driver Husain approached “direct- ly behind” her at around 55mph, however slammed his brakes on as they approached traffic lights and then tried to overtake on the outside. However he wasn’t aware Haq, also a private hire driver
Mohamed Haq
by profession, who was travelling be- hind him, had moved into the out- side lane to try and overtake both of them and was at that point travelling at around 82mph in the 30mph zone. After a previous court hearing a judge ruled out any suggestion the pair were racing. Howev- er he said it was clear that they were “showing off” and “thrill seeking”. Husain’s
barrister
Nicholas Ross said there were hundreds of people at the wedding and that his client had “no idea” Haq was behind him or sim- ply didn’t see the BMW when he tried the to overtake. The court heard the Jaguar and the BMW collided, be- fore the BMW went into the back of the victim’s car and bounced off the central reservation before colliding with both cars again. The woman, who was driving within the speed limit, was “not braced for the impact” and was “shunted several times” thinking she
32 Muazzem Husain
was going to die Duncan Wilcock, prosecuting, said. During the “chaotic “aftermath, an off- duty fireman climb- ed in the passenger seat next to her and held her head still until paramedics arrived as she was experiencing neck and back pain. Her car had to be “virtually disman- tled” and it took two hours for firefighters to cut her free and safely remove her from the car before she was rushed to hospital. She was found to have suffered a lum- bar fracture of the first vertebrae of her spine. She spent a week in hospital before being dis- charged; however she then spent weeks in a body brace and had to move in with her in- laws to be cared for. The court heard she had not been able to go back to work since due to con- stant pain and was a “shadow of her for- mer self.”
Haq and Husain, both from Chester, stayed at the scene and were found to have no alcohol in
their system. Both also have clean driving licences and have no previous convictions, the court was told. They both pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing and were sentenced at Minshull Street Crown on 16 March. Haq’s barrister in- sisted he had demo- nstrated “shame, sor- row and deep regret” and that it was a “split second deci- sion” and a “moment of madness that will live with him for the rest of his life.” Husain also felt “deep and sincere guilt” and wished to apologise face-to- face to the woman if that was possible. Recorder Geoffrey Payne ignored pleas to suspend their sentences saying a “message needed to be sent to people who drive in this way that immediate custody will follow.” He told them: “No sentence I can pass can undo the serious injuries you caused. The victim’s life has changed completely. “People who go thrill-seeking on the road and drive like you did must expect to go prison.” Both men were imprisoned for 22 months and banned from driving for 30 months, which will begin when they are released at the half- way point of their sentences.
APRIL 2020
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