Barking Uber driver cleared of killing man, 70, by careless driving in Aldgate hit-and-run

The trial took place at the Old Bailey.

Mohamad Uddin, 28, from Barking knocked down Mauro Gutierrez then sped off in his rented BMW at about 10.30pm on April 25 last year, the prosecution said.

Mr Gutierrez was crossing the 30mph one-way Mansell Street in Aldgate when he was sent flying around 20 metres down the road, the Old Bailey heard.

Uddin had been going up to 41mph and should have been able to see Mr Gutierrez before impact, even though the victim was wearing dark clothes, it was argued.

Afterwards he drove off with a smashed windscreen but was tracked down through his number plate.

Passers-by came to the pensioner’s aid but he died in the Royal London Hospital two hours later.

Prosecutor Christopher Amis had told jurors: “On April 25 last year at about 10.25pm a 70-year-old man, Mauro Gutierrez, was crossing a road close to where he lived known as Mansell Street when he was hit by a BMW vehicle being driving over the speed limit by this defendant.

“Very unfortunately Mr Gutierrez died from his injuries. The defendant failed to stop.

“Indeed, he accelerated away from the scene.”

Uddin, of Wilmington Gardens, denied causing death by careless driving and was found not guilty after a jury deliberated for five hours.

In the absence of the jury, the court heard the defendant had a previous conviction for speeding in 2008, when he was aged 18.

In legal argument ahead of the trial, his lawyer Kiera Chana said her client had been working as an Uber driver but was not on a job at the time.

She said: “He simply did not see the deceased until the very last moment.

“At that moment Mr Uddin did what he could to try to avoid a collision - his brake lights did turn on and he did make a movement to the left suggesting he had made some sort of attempt to move out of the pedestrian’s way to no avail.”

She said he had not worked for Uber since but his “main priority” was to patch up his relationship with his wife and two-year-old daughter who had moved out of the family home.

The family of Mr Gutierrez appeared upset as Uddin was cleared shortly after the jury was given a majority direction.

The defendant wiped away tears as he left the courtroom.

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