A speeding Uber driver left a girl with a fractured pelvis by knocking her over as she made her way to school.
Hamdullah Ozdemir already had nine points on his licence when he travelled through a crossroads junction in Newcastle doing at least 41mph on the 30mph road. He also briefly took his eyes off the road, meaning he didn’t notice the 12-year-old had stepped out to cross, against the lights, until it was too late to avoid hitting her.
She was thrown through the air and suffered a broken pelvis. Someone used her phone to call her grandmother from the scene saying she had been run over and she rushed to the scene and found her injured in the road.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the accident happened on May 2 last year, in Welbeck Road, Newcastle, as the girl was crossing the road at some traffic lights on a crossroads
The lights turned green and a queue of traffic moved off and after it did so, the schoolgirl stepped into the road to cross it. Sentencing Ozdemir, Judge Julie Clemitson said: “She very quickly noticed your vehicle travelling towards the junction, travelling rather more quickly than she expected and more quickly than the speed limit.
“Unfortunately, as you approached the traffic light controlled junction, not only were you driving too fast, you were not paying sufficient attention and didn’t see her crossing the road. She was clearly visible, standing at the pedestrian crossing.
“You looked down towards the centre of your vehicle for a second or so and when you looked up she was right in front of you and you were unable to stop. She was thrown into the air – the footage is quite horrific – and landed in the road.”
The girl suffered a fractured pelvis and grazes to her chest and leg and was left with “some residual discomfort” months later. Judge Clemitson said: “She’s perhaps lucky, as are you, that those injuries were not more severe. A collision at that speed could easily prove to be fatal.”
The court heard someone used the girl’s phone to ring her grandmother from the scene to tell her she had been hit by a car. The judge said: “One can only imagine how that must have felt when she received the news in that way. She rushed to the scene and found her injured in the road.”
Ozdemir, 49, of Belmont Close, Wallsend, and his passenger contacted the emergency services and he took appropriate steps to help. His own dash cam footage shows him put his head in his hands immediately after the crash.
When interviewed by police, he said he was not aware of his speed at the time. Judge Clemitson said: “That’s somewhat surprising given the fact you had nine points on your licence. One might imagine someone who needs their licence for their livelihood and are carrying nine points would be acutely aware of their speed at all times.”
A police investigation involving CCTV showed the minimum speed he was travelling as he went through the junction was 41mph..
Judge Clemtison added: “You told the police you thought you were paying proper attention. Well, the facts speak for themselves and clearly you were not. She was visible on the side of the road waiting to cross. Had you been paying proper attention you would have seen her step out and been able to take evasive action.”
The judge said the point in the road where he hit the child, at a crossroads and where there are pedestrian crossings, had “a particularly high need for vigilance”. She added that the girl was a vulnerable road user and told Ozdemir: “She crossed the road against the signal and didn’t step back when she saw your car but any driver should have been aware of pedestrians, particularly children making their way to school at that time in the morning.”
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Ozdemir pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was sentenced to 16 months suspended for two years with 200 hours unpaid work. He was also banned from driving for two years and must sit an extended driving test before he can get his licence back.
The court heard Ozdemir, who has no previous convictions, was left devastated by the accident and suffering nightmares. He and his wife care for two adult children with special needs and with complex medical situations.
His wife said he is “riddled with remorse which is eating away at him” over the crash. He voluntarily gave up his taxi licence and only drives to take his daughter to hospital.
Judge Clemitson said: “You say in your letter you will never forgive yourself. You have not worked as a result of your upset and distress as a result of this incident.”
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