Shooting victim crashed into taxi driver during police chase in Bradford

A SHOOTING victim injured a taxi driver when he sped through red lights and crashed into his car during a police chase.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Khurram Salim had driven at twice the speed limit before the accident, after failing to stop for roads policing officers.

Prosecutor Ben Crosland told how 27-year-old Salim failed to give way at junctions and drove in excess of 60mph in 30mph limits in a Vauxhall Corsa around Great Horton and Lidget Green, Bradford.

Mr Crosland said the defendant drove on the wrong side of the carriageway in Legrams Lane, and the wrong way round keep left bollards and a mini roundabout, before driving through the junction of Ingleby Road and Horton Grange Road while the lights were on red.

The prosecutor said: "He collided with a taxi driver travelling legitimately through a green light. The Corsa then collided with pedestrian barriers and traffic lights and continued into a garden wall, where it came to a halt."

Mr Crosland said the defendant was arrested and officers noticed he was unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurred and he smelled strongly of intoxicants. At the police station he was abusive to officers and refused to comply with the drink drive procedure.

The taxi driver's Skoda car was written off and he had to take a week and a half off work and use painkillers for neck and back pain.

The court heard the incident started in Clayton Road, Bradford, at 3.45am on April 28 this year. The Corsa was being driven towards them when it suddenly turned left into Beckside Road. When the officers put on their sirens and blue lights, the Corsa stopped in the middle of the road and then accelerated away.

Salim, of Staveley Road, Shipley, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and failing to provide a sample.

His barrister, Kate Bissett, said her client had been the victim of a shooting in 2011, which had led to him suffering post traumatic stress and anxiety disorders. He began drinking alcohol with self-medication, leading to him making poor decisions.

Miss Bissett said her client accepted it was an appalling piece of driving. He was genuinely remorseful and many features of his life were positive.

Jailing him for ten months and disqualifying him from driving for 18 months, Recorder Gurdial Singh told Salim it was "luck, not judgement that greater harm was not occasioned."

Recorder Singh added: "This incident resulted in a collision with another road user."

He said other road users had the right to expect to be safe when driving.

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