Former taxi driver jailed after deliberately driving at family in Fenham street attack

A former taxi driver who deliberately drove his car at a family on a Newcastle street – leaving a man with life-changing injuries – has been jailed.

Hasan Mohammed used his silver Skoda Superb as a weapon after a brief confrontation on Brighton Grove in Fenham, ploughing into a man in his 50s and narrowly missing other relatives, including a woman carrying a one-year-old child.

Family leaving restaurant targeted in street

The incident happened at around 9.15pm on Sunday, September 14 last year, as a family were leaving a restaurant on Brighton Grove and crossing the road back to their vehicle.

As they stepped into the street, a silver Skoda Superb came around the corner at speed, swerving dangerously. Concerned by the driver’s behaviour and fearing for their safety, a family member threw a small lollipop towards the vehicle in an attempt to warn the driver and signal for them to slow down.

Rather than driving away, Mohammed reacted with anger. He carried out a three-point turn at a nearby set of traffic lights before accelerating directly towards the group at speed.

Car used as a weapon

The court heard how Mohammed aimed the vehicle at the family, mounting his attack in a matter of seconds. The male victim, aged in his 50s, was struck with force and thrown several feet into the air by the impact.

Other family members were narrowly missed, including a woman who was holding a one-year-old child in her arms. The scene, on a residential street in Fenham, could easily have ended in multiple fatalities.

Mohammed did not stop at the scene. He fled, leaving the injured man lying in the road, and drove back to his home in Elswick. Police arrested him just 42 minutes later and seized the damaged Skoda from his address.

Life-changing injuries

The victim suffered catastrophic injuries in the collision. He sustained fractures to his leg, ribs, shoulder and vertebrae, as well as internal bleeding and significant facial injuries.

He required major surgery, including a full shoulder replacement, and now lives with permanent physical limitations. The court was told that his body “no longer does what it once did” and that he now needs help with “the most personal aspects” of daily life.

“My life has been permanently changed”

In a powerful victim impact statement read to the court, the man described how an ordinary family evening had turned into a nightmare that has reshaped his life.

“What began as a normal evening out ended in something that has permanently changed my life.”

He recalled the moment he realised the car was coming straight at him.

“There was no time to react or protect myself. I remember the fear, the confusion, and then the impact.

I was struck at speed and thrown. What stays with me is not just the pain, but the knowledge that my family, including my young grandson and daughter, were right there and could have been killed.”

Before the incident, he said, he had been a strong, independent man who worked and lived without needing support.

“Before this incident, I was a strong and independent man. That part of my life has now been taken away from me.”

“A prisoner in his own body”

The court also heard from the victim’s family, who described the lasting emotional and practical impact of the attack. They said their lives “have never returned to how things were before” and that there is now a “constant awareness of what has happened hanging over” them.

His daughter told the court that her father is now “a prisoner in his own body”, held together by “metal plates and screws”.

“My father survived but the quality of his life was murdered that day.”

She described the grief of watching a once-active man struggle with basic tasks, and the family’s ongoing fear and anxiety whenever they are near busy roads or fast-moving traffic.

Judge jails driver for deliberate street attack

Sentencing Mohammed, the judge said the case was far removed from a momentary lapse in concentration or a simple case of dangerous driving. Instead, the court found that he had made a conscious decision to turn his car around, aim it at a group of pedestrians and drive at speed towards them.

The judge highlighted the deliberate nature of the manoeuvre, the presence of a young child, the life-changing injuries caused and Mohammed’s decision to flee the scene as serious aggravating features.

Mohammed, a former taxi driver, was jailed for his actions. The sentence reflects the court’s view that using a vehicle in this way amounts to a serious act of violence, with consequences comparable to an attack with a weapon.

Lasting impact on a Newcastle family

For the victim and his family, the effects of that night on Brighton Grove are ongoing. Everyday tasks now require planning, support and adaptation. The physical pain is matched by psychological scars and the constant reminder of how quickly their lives were changed.

What began as a simple family meal has become a defining moment – one that, in the words of his daughter, did not take his life, but “murdered” the quality of it.