JAILED: Driver of stolen car who seriously injured man in horror smash
A prolific criminal who seriously injured a man in a horror crash while driving a car he had stolen minutes earlier has been locked up for almost three years.
Arfan Mohammed careered over a junction at 50mph and slammed into an Astra van so hard it was catapulted across the pavement, through a concrete-base fence and into the porch of a house causing thousands of pounds worth of damage, a judge heard. The badly hurt driver – a 42-year-old tiler – had to be freed from the wrecked vehicle and spent seven days in hospital.
He underwent treatment for nine broken ribs and a collapsed lung. He also damaged his wrist in the impact.
Unemployed Mohammed, who had 49 previous convictions for 101 separate offences including several cases of dangerous driving, took the silver Citroen Picasso after spotting the owner accidentally drop the car keys after parking in Smethwick High Street on May 27, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
The theft was quickly reported and a passing police patrol spotted the vehicle in nearby Holly Lane minutes later.
But 43-year-old Mohammed refused to stop and sped away from officers, leading to a chase through the streets.
The Picasso travelled at 50mph in a 30mph zone while racing over speed bumps in Victoria Road.
And it roared across a mini roundabout before hurtling across a giveway junction with Basons Lane where it crashed into the van.
Mr Kevin Jones, prosecuting, told the court: "It made no attempt to stop and collided with the other vehicle that had right of way.
"The van went through a fence and collided with the porch of a house where the woman occupant had been standing just minutes earlier."
Officers from the pursing police car saw the smash happen.
They assisted the injured van driver and arrested Mohammed who had taken cocaine some time before the accident.
Mr Hafeez Mohammad, defending, said: "He feels very fortunate that the injuries of the man in the van were not even more serious."
Mohammed, from Granville Street, Birmingham, admitted causing serious injury through dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking.
He was jailed for two years eight months and will be banned from driving for two years from the date of his release from prison.
The van driver from Sedgley, who asked not to be named, said he was trying to launch his own business when the smash happened and has not been able to work since.
He said after the case: "I didn't see him coming and before I knew what was happening I was across the pavement, through the fence and into the porch of the lady's house."
