A dangerous motorist who ploughed into a Stoke-on-Trent takeaway while using his mobile phone has been jailed for 26 months. Daniel Mohammed, 21, of Emerson Road, Cobridge, caused a horrific crash on Scotia Road, Burslem, on July 20 last year, leaving his front seat passenger with a fractured collarbone and broken wrist bones.
Crash Details
Prosecutor Salek Ahmed told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court that the victim, who knew Mohammed through mutual friends, had asked him to slow down as he accelerated with his phone in hand. Mohammed replied, 'Na, it's alright,' before overtaking a taxi on a bend near a zebra crossing. He lost control of his black Ford Focus, which spun and crashed into Rose Fast Food takeaway.
Striking CCTV footage showed the collision. Both occupants were taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital. The woman suffered a broken left collarbone and fractures to two bones in her forearm, with tingling and diminished feeling in her fingers.
Victim Impact
In a victim impact statement, the woman said: 'I broke my right wrist multiple times. I broke my collarbone. I had a metal plate in my wrist. I can't move it back and forward. I had to go months without working and felt very isolated and depressed. I worry I would not be able to cope when I have children or get older. I look at my scar every day and remember the crash like it was yesterday.'
The takeaway proprietor, who leased the premises, said the shop required demolition and his mental health has been severely impacted. His insurance company has yet to settle his claim.
Court Sentencing
Mohammed admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, using a vehicle without third party insurance, and using a handheld mobile phone while driving. He had a previous conviction for drug-driving.
James Kumar, mitigating, said Mohammed is remorseful and cannot recall the incident but accepts what his passenger reported. He said: 'He is a young man who realises he has done wrong. It has taught him a sharp and stern lesson. His family have moved him out of the area. He has a place at a local college on a plumbing course. This has been a wake-up call. Custody would do more harm than good for his long-term rehabilitation.'
Judge Graeme Smith said: 'We have watched the videos showing what happened. There was a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road. You drove at speeds in excess of the limit. You overtook on the approach to a zebra crossing where zigzag lines indicate you should not overtake, and on a bend where you could not see oncoming traffic. You were using a mobile phone and had been warned by your passenger to slow down. It is astonishing both of you were not more seriously injured. I cannot suspend the sentence because of its length.'
Mohammed was sentenced to 26 months imprisonment and banned from driving for three years and 10 months, until he passes an extended driving test.
