Pedestrian was 'not expected to live' after driver ploughed into him on Leeds crossing
He was left permanently blinded on one eye
A pedestrian was left with permanent injuries, including being blinded in one eye, after being struck by a car on a zebra crossing.
His injuries were so serious that paramedics treating him at the scene did not expect him to reach hospital.
Driver Anas Mamoor avoided immediate custody at Leeds Crown Court after admitting causing serious injury by careless driving.
However, it was heard there was a “strong inference” that Mamoor had been on his phone at the time, after he refused to provide a PIN for access to this phone.
The 25-year-old claimed that he was distracted by a conversation he was having with his passenger, which the Crown was forced to accept in lieu of phone evidence.
Prosecutor Lydia Carroll said the victim had been walking to work for a night shift on the evening of February 17, 2023.
He was on the crossing on Kirkstall Lane, near to the junction with Langdale Avenue, and around “90% across” when he was struck by Mamoor’s Vauxhall Corsa just before 11pm.
He was thrown “some distance”, Ms Carroll said. Mamoor stopped at the scene and later passed a drug test, breath test and eye test.
He had only braked at the moment of impact, or just before, but was not found to be speeding.
The police at the scene were told it was likely to be a fatality and the ambulance staff did not expect the victim to reach the hospital alive.
He did, but suffered “catastrophic” injuries including multiple facial fractures, permanent damage to one eye leaving him blind, while his other eye was also affected.
He has been left with no sense of smell and a depleted sense of taste.
The victim, bravely reading out his own victim impact statement to the court, said it was unlikely he will ever be able to drive, has been forced to give up his love for photography and is unable to work full time.
Mamoor, of Gathorne Terrace, Chapeltown, claimed he could not remember the PIN for his phone, but Judge Penelope Belcher labelled it “pathetic” and said: “He wants to grow up and admit what he has done.”
Mitigating, Lily Wildman said: “He admitted what he has done wrong by virtue of his guilty plea.”
Judge Belcher told Mamoor: “That momentary lapse of concentration has had catastrophic effects.
“The crossing was fully illuminated, he was there to be seen.
“The impact your stupidity has had on his life is frankly appalling. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
Judge Belcher, pointing out that she was bound by sentencing guidelines, gave him a 23-week sentence, suspended for two years.
She ordered he complete 250 hours of unpaid work, a probation requirement, and a curfew order.
He was banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to take an extended re-test to get his licence back.