Taxi Driver Online

Taxi driver sentenced after killing devoted dad in Hull city centre crash

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hu ... sh-3428041

Muhammed Ali admitted causing death by careless driving after the death of Ray Carter

A taxi driver who could not avoid a fatal collision with a pensioner on a pedestrian crossing has been ordered to do unpaid work for the community.

Muhammad Ali, 61, hit former merchant seaman Ray Carter, 79, in Ferensway, city centre, at 5.40pm on August 27, 2017.

The automated crossing was displaying a green light for traffic and red for pedestrians when Mr Carter stepped out on the southbound carriageway on his way home from drinking with friends, Hull Crown Court heard.

He was enjoying his first weekend out in a year since undergoing heart surgery, and had been given "a clean bill of health" by the hospital, his daughter said in a statement on behalf of the family.

A witness said moments before the impact, Ali, who was driving a blue Peugeot taxi, was "looking towards the taxi rank to see how many people were there", prosecutor Claire Holmes told the court.

But although Ali was slightly speeding, the accident would have been "unavoidable" even if he was travelling at the 30mph speed limit, the court heard.

Mr Carter suffered "extensive trauma" and died at Hull Royal Infirmary the next day.

Ali, who was due to stand trial on Monday, admitted causing death by careless driving after being given an indication of his likely sentence by Judge Paul Watson QC, Honorary Recorder of Hull and the East Riding.

Family's tribute

In a statement, Mr Carter's daughter described the father-of-four as "the anchor that held us together".

She said: "We miss him and love him every day. His life was just getting back on track after having open heart surgery.

"It was the first weekend he'd gone out to see his friends for a year. The pain and sorrow of his loss is still felt every day."

She said her father would "never get to see his great-granddaughter grow up, nor his grandchild. As a family we are absolutely heartbroken".

Mr Carter had taken four steps and had almost reached the centre of the crossing when he was hit, the court heard.

Ali, of Westbourne Avenue, west Hull, was twice interviewed about the collision. In the first, he said: "I saw the guy walk as though he was going to step out. He did step out. I braked hard and hit the man."

Miss Holmes said he went on to say "the guy had run off the pavement", but this was "not consistent" with witness reports, and one had seen Mr Carter "stagger slightly" before entering the road.

Ali made no comment in a second interview at Clough Road police station.

Hull-born Mr Carter had a twin brother and older brother and spent most of his life in the city, his daughter said.

'He saw the world'

He left school aged 15 and later joined the Merchant Navy, which his daughter described as "a job he loved, which took him to all parts of the world". He then left and joined the Army, during which time he met his future wife, getting married when he was 22.

The family home was in Moorhouse Road, west Hull, although they later moved to the Garths area of Bransholme when it was first built.

Mr Carter's wife died in 2004, eight years after being diagnosed with cancer.

Mr Carter later worked as a steward for North Sea Ferries and then on oil rigs, latterly for BP at Saltend.

He had gone to meet friends returning from a rugby final at Wembley on the day of the accident, his daughter said.

'Driver is remorseful'

Mark Brookes, for Ali, said the most important piece of mitigation was the remorse his client felt. He said as a father and grandfather, Ali had "empathy" for Mr Carter's family. Ali had suffered flashbacks since the accident and was being treated for anxiety and depression, Mr Brookes said.

Ali's chances of ever working as a taxi driver again were virtually "extinct", his barrister said.

Sentencing Ali, the judge told him: "It was a tragic accident which led to his death. But it is one for which you bear at least partial blame.

"No order I make today can compensate for the loss of a man who still had a good life ahead of him. A father and a brother, and nothing I do or say can lessen the impact of their loss. The criminal law is quite unequipped to do that."

Ali was ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work as part of a 12-month community order. He was banned from driving for 18 months and must take an extended test before he can drive again. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 towards the prosecution costs of the case.

Can't really see the point of that in the grand scheme of things.

Kind of thing that could happen to the vast majority of drivers. A couple of seconds inattention, and someone walks out in front of you...

If he's a safer driver when/if he gets his licence back, suspect it'll be because he'll pay more attention in future because of what happened, and not because he's sat an extended test.

The judge had quite rightly, in my view, ruled out custody, so maybe in an effort to make the sentence a bit more tolerable for the victim's family he added that.

But I suspect the judge agrees with most of us in that there was no winners here, only losers.

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IDFIMH

we have two "light controlled" crossings here and they are a nightmare because 90% of pedestrians ignore the red light and cross on green for vehicles

they are supposed to be safer BUT I think the older ones with the flashing amber are much better because pedestrians don't assume the lights are on red for the vehicles

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

We have a mixture here, and there are pros and cons with both.

Problem with the flashing amber ones is that people sometimes just walk on to them without warning and expect cars to stop.

This is made worse by their positioning - a couple are at the end of streets with buildings on the corner, so people just march out of nowhere and are suddenly on the crossing. Often simply gawking at a mobile phone and simply expecting drivers to stop.

Problem is not so much the crossings than that many treat them as part of the pavement

Problem with the flashing amber ones is that people sometimes just walk on to them without warning and expect cars to stop.

that's what happens here with the light controlled ones

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector