A raging Uber driver who ran over and killed a passenger after he was sick in his car has been jailed. Hayadulla Turkmani mowed down Michael Ashton outside his home in Basildon, Essex, after he got a “small amount” of vomit on the back seat.
Michael, 28, was rushed to hospital but couldn’t be saved and was declared dead after suffering a severe brain injury.
Turkmani, 53, has now been jailed for five years for causing death by dangerous driving. He was cleared of murder and manslaughter following a trial at Basildon Crown Court. Judge Samantha Cohen also handed him a seven-and-a-half year driving ban.
Sentencing, she said: “I am satisfied you were the aggressor in this argument. When you arrived at their home Mr Ashton’s partner Sophie Carroll decided to try her best to clear it up – you remained angry. As you drive away you couldn’t resist an abusive parting shot towards Mr Ashton.”
Judge Cohen said she believed Turkmani “should have seen” Michael in the road, adding that his driving showed “complete disregard” for the danger he posed. But she said she was “bound” by the jury’s verdict and, as a result, had to conclude that Turkmani had not intended to hit the victim as he stood in the road.
The court heard that Michael, a Barking and Dagenham council worker, had gone out for the night with his partner when they booked the Uber. On the journey home he fell ill and a row broke out between him and Turkmani. Jurors were told the couple went into their home to get wet wipes to clean up the mess.
Prosecutors said Turkmani then ploughed into Michael in anger with his automatic Toyota Prius. Turkmani told the jury he was “panicked and frightened” and “did not see” the six-foot man. Turkmani, who left Afghanistan in 1999 to escape Taliban persecution, denied charges of unaliving, manslaughter and causing death by dangerous driving.
In a victim impact statement, Michael’s partner Sophie Carroll said she had lost a “soulmate” and “the future they planned together”. She added: “We spoke about getting married. We had the same ideas about what we wanted in life, we wanted children together and spoke about spending the rest of our lives together. Since he passed away I have struggled to find my place in life without him.”
