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Taxi driver drove over woman's foot as she crossed the road
A TAXI driver ran into a woman as she crossed a road at Skipton Bus Station, breaking one of her legs and bones in a foot, heard magistrates.
Haq Nawaz had picked up some customers and was turning in the entrance to the bus station at around 10pm on May 7 last year when he drove into the woman and over her foot, Skipton Magistrates heard today (Friday).
She was left with a broken tibia in one of her legs and broken bones in a foot, the court heard. She spent four weeks with her leg in plaster and suffered bumps and bruises.
Prosecuting, Mel Ibbotson told the court how the woman had described feeling an impact on the back of her knee and screaming at the driver of the taxi to stop.
She and her husband had been in the Fleece Pub in Keighley Road and were on their way to a restaurant when she was hit by Nawaz's taxi.
Nawaz got out of his vehicle, a BMW 3 series, and told the woman that he had not seen her, said Ms Ibbotson.
The woman recalled her husband shouting and swearing and thinking she could not walk. After 45 minutes, an ambulance arrived and she was taken to hospital.
An x-ray confirmed she had a broken tibia in one of her legs, and broken foot bones.
In an interview with police, Nawaz fully accepted what he had done, and explained he had just picked up a fare from Flutez and Fizz in Keighley Road and was turning in the entrance to the bus station, a road he knew very well.
Nawaz, 52, a man of previous good character, admitted causing serious injury by driving without due care and attention.
In mitigation, Julian White said the loss of losing his licence would have a significant impact on Nawaz who was married with two children.
He had been driving since 1987 and had been a taxi driver on an off for 30 years, and had always had a clean licence.
Mr White said Nawaz knew the couple, they were regular customers, and he had been to see them.
"He could not be more contrite. This was the definitive momentary lapse of concentration," said Mr White.
Probation officer Andrew Watson said Nawaz would learn from the incident and there was a question mark over whether he would get his taxi licence back once his driving ban was over.
Nawaz of Park Grove, Keighley, was given a 12 month community order with 100 hours unpaid work. He was also banned from driving for a year and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a surcharge of £114.
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