A DRIVER in a rented Audi who terrorised a group of pedestrians and caused nearly £5,000 of damage to their car after they asked him to slow down has been jailed and banned from driving.
Jonaid Ul Hassan, 25, pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to dangerous driving, criminal damage, possessing an offensive weapon and affray.
The court was told that on August 29 last year, Ul Hassan was driving a rented white Audi through Skipton when he got into an altercation with a group of five pedestrians, including a child, when they asked him to slow down.
Ul Hassan, of Brougham Street, Skipton, became extremely aggressive towards them to the point that two of the group and their five-year-old child sought refuge in a stranger’s car when the motorist stopped to ask them if they were ok.
Ul Hassan went back to his car but returned to the remaining couple with a friend who made threatening comments to the couple along the lines of “keeping walking so we know where you live”. Feeling threatened and intimidated by the situation, the man
and woman decided to hide. They split up with the man getting a lift with a member of the public and the woman hiding near the canal.
The couple’s friends who had got to safety, then arrived to pick up the woman and as they drove away, Ul Hassan began chasing them in his Audi, and hitting their vehicle with a weapon as he travelled.
Dashcam footage from the victim’s vehicle then shows Ul Hassan getting out of his rented car in Tesco car park and attacking the victim’s car causing £4,956 worth of damage.
While being chased through Skipton in constant fear of attack, the victims called the police and were told to drive to the safety of Skipton Police Station by the call handler.
Ul Hassan was later arrested by West Yorkshire Police after the Audi was stopped between Skipton and Keighley.
Inspector Julie Earnshaw, of Craven Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Ul Hassan not only put his victims in absolute fear for their life, but showed total disregard for the safety of all members of the public as he chased the victims through Skipton.
His actions could have been catastrophic. I’m glad that justice has caught up with him, he now has ample time in prison to reflect on what he did that night.”
Ul Hassan was sentenced to 20 months jail for affray; 10 months jail for dangerous driving; two months jail for criminal damage and nine months jail for possessing an offensive weapon (baseball bat). The sentences are to run concurrently. He also was
handed a driving ban for 30 months and must take an extended driving test as well as pay a surcharge of £187.
https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/23915320.skipton-man-jailed-terrorising-pedestrians-damaging-car/
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