Restaurant owner killed man in head-on smash, court told
A restaurant owner from West Bromwich caused a head-on crash that killed a man and seriously injured several of his own passengers, a court heard.
Sohan Lal died in the smash on the A454 near Bridgnorth when the Seat Ibiza he had been driving collided with a Volkswagen Sharan on July 30, 2018.
Rushon Ali, who was driving the Sharan, is standing trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court accused of causing his death and seriously injuring four others by dangerous driving.
Opening the case, Mr Peter Grice, prosecuting, said: “It was a head-on collision. The prosecution say it was caused by the dangerous driving of his vehicle.”
Mr Grice said Ali, 45, of Lodge Road, West Bromwich, “failed to respond to an approaching bend” and veered on to the wrong side of the road, crossing over the two centre white lines shortly before the crash.
Ali, who is the joint proprietor of the Blue Ginger restaurant in Bridgnorth, was carrying six passengers, four of whom suffered serious injuries.
The group had been travelling towards Bridgnorth at the time. Emergency services were called but there was nothing that could be done to save Mr Lal.
Mr Grice said Ali told a police officer afterwards: “I just blanked out for a second.”
'Near perfect' driving conditions
“He said on the day he was driving as normal and suddenly he lost consciousness. He said he wasn’t on any medication, that nothing disturbed his concentration.”
Mr Grice said Ali's vehicle had no defects and there were “near perfect" driving conditions. Ali was also breathalysed by police but tested negative.
Giving evidence, forensic collision investigator Pc Mark Philip said he had attended the crash scene. He said: “It was a fine, bright day with light cloud. The road surface was in good condition.”
He told the court that none of Ali’s back seat passengers had been wearing a seatbelt.
The jury was told yesterday that Ali admits causing the death of Mr Lal by careless driving.
He denies causing his death by dangerous driving and four counts of causing serious injury to Abdul Majid, Mohammed Soaib, Syed Keyes and Nurul Amin by dangerous driving.
The trial continues.
