A woman who sparked fears of a terrorist attack when her car ploughed into a crowd of people during Eid celebrations causing serious injury has been jailed for 16 months.
Marian Kabah left a seven-year-old boy with a brain injury and another man in a serious condition after she lost control of her Nissan Juke and careered into a crowd at Westgate Road Community College in Newcastle – injuring seven people.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how there were fears at the time that the collision might have been terrorist related but the crash was later found not to be malicious.
.
Marian Kabah (pictured arriving at court on December 13) was behind the wheel of a Nissan Juke when it crashed into families who had been celebrating Eid in Newcastle
The court heard how the 42-year-old had been attending the event, which was attended by between four and five thousand worshippers and celebrated the end of Ramadan, early that morning on June 25 last year.
Kabah was driving with three children and her friend in the car with her when she decided to mount the curb to enter a grassed area and lost control of the automatic vehicle.
Mark Giuliani, prosecuting, told the court: ‘As she was leaving she noticed some friends of hers on the grassed area to her right.
‘She decided she would stop and talk to them. The consequences of that decision was that seven pedestrians were knocked down.’
Mr Giuliani told the court how Kabah accelerated to mount the curb and but didn’t slow her car down or bring it to a stop.
Zaryab Rajib, then seven, and his father, Abdul, were both hit by Kabah during the multiple collision.
The child suffered brain and multiple orthopaedic injuries while his father, who is a taxi driver, suffered a fracture to his right ankle which has impacted on his work.
The court heard how the child, who has now turned eight-years-old, has suffered from a change in personality and suffers nightmares and wakes up screaming like he can’t breathe following the crash.
Kabah is shown attempting to conceal her face as she left Newcastle Crown Court on December 13, after admitting to leaving a seven-year-old boy and a student seriously injured
In a victim impact statement read to the court Mr Giuliani, his mother said: ‘This was the most horrific scene I have ever witnessed made worse by the fact it was my husband and my son. I collapsed in shock.’
Another man Abdullah Sio, 43, was run over by Kabah’s car after pushing his son out of the way in order to prevent him from being hit.
The PHD student suffered multiple injuries to his ribs, spine and vertebrate while his son, whose foot was hit by the car, received a twisted ankle.
Mr Sio, who is still using a wheel chair, read his victim impact statement to the court in which he said: ‘The car could have killed me and my other family members.
‘I still think what if I died then what would have happened to my family.’
Mr Sio said the injuries he has suffered have had an effect on his studying and he has not been able to explain what has happened to his family in Syria as he doesn’t want them to suffer more than they already are.
Mr Giuliani told the court how Kabah said, ‘I’m not feeling well’, ‘I didn’t mean to do that’ and ‘I don’t know what happened’ as she was taken out of the car.
He told the court how Kabah did not suffer from a medical condition and there was nothing mechanically wrong with the car.
Kabah’s car (pictured) hit seven people and left two of them badly hurt, with a Newcastle University PHD student suffering ‘life-changing’ injuries
Mr Giuliani said Kabah might have panicked and pressed the acceleration pedal instead of the brake when she lost control of the vehicle.
Kabah, of Gateshead, admitted two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving at a previous court hearing.
Andrew Nuttall, defending, told the court how Kabah was the lone carer for her husband who needs 24 hour care after suffering a stroke.
He told the court: ‘She came to this country in 2008 but prior to coming to this country she spent nine years in a refugee camp.
‘She gave birth to her son within the camp and managed to get to this country, her son was eight years old.
‘Within 12 months of being in this country her husband suffered a catastrophic stroke.
‘He was in hospital, she wasn’t sure if he was going to live or die for nearly 12 months.’
He told the court how social services took her son from her to be fostered while she tried to cope.
A seven-year-old boy was left with brain injuries while his father suffered a fractured ankle and four other people sustained minor injuries
He said: ‘She has been the full carer of her husband. He has severe difficulties, he really can’t do anything for himself.
‘She is essentially at home 95% of the time with her husband who really can’t communicate in any meaningful way.
‘She understands suffering and she understand what her actions have caused and she fully understand the distress that’s been caused by her actions, her unintended actions.
‘She is the last person that would wish to cause distress to anybody and yet here she is.
‘She clearly did not intend what had taken place.’
Mr Giuliani told the court: ‘At the time initially there was some concern that it might have been some sort of malicious terrorist act.
‘A car driving into a crowd celebrating Eid could be misinterpreted as such.’
Mr Sio said: ‘The car collided with me, it was a horrendous feeling of my bones cracking, I thought I was going to die. I was pulled from under the car and taken to hospital.’
Zaryab also suffered hearing loss and a problem with eye movement as a result of the collision.
Mr Giuliani told the court how Kabah was fasting throughout Ramadan and suffering from insomnia which may have had something to do with how she reacted to losing control of the car.
Judge Edward Bindloss told the court how two of the seven victims had suffered ‘life-changing’ injuries.
He said: ‘It goes without saying it’s a very sad and tragic case for all concerned.’
He sentenced Kabah to 16 months in prison, disqualified her from driving two years and ordered her to sit an extended driving test.