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Impact was like wind pressure, says driver Kidnap girl's body dragged under taxi
Joanne Ginley A TAXI driver who ran over a young kidnap victim and dragged her body 25 metres under his car claimed he did not stop because he thought the impact was just "wind pressure" or that he had hit an object, a court heard.
Mohammed Ashiq's taxi struck 20-year-old Stephanie Hammill moments after she "had jumped or been pushed" from her abductor's car.
Adrian Knox, prosecuting at Dewsbury Magistrates' Court yesterday, said: "She came from the offside of the car into the road, ending up straight in the path of Mr Ashiq's taxi. It is accepted that a collision cannot have been avoided. The defendant is not charged with driving without due care and attention."
Mr Knox told the court that Ashiq had told police that he saw a car travelling in the opposite direction and thought he saw something roll or come from the vehicle.
He claimed he slowed down and looked in his rear view mirror but saw nothing and carried on.
He said: "There was a car coming in the opposite direction and, as the car passed, I saw a bag kind of thing roll out and come towards my car and it just touched the driving side.
"I thought sometimes things do fly out and I thought the same thing, that a bag or something had been blown into the car or wind had just touched my car."
When he was questioned over whether it had felt like he had run over a body, he replied he did not feel anything like that.
He claimed the impact had made "just a very little noise" and said it was like "wind pressure" touching the car.
Miss Hammill had flagged down what proved to be a bogus taxi at about 2.30am on Saturday, November 29, 2003, after a night out in Wakefield with her fianc, James Garland.
She got into the back seat and left the door open for her 22-year-old boyfriend to get in, but the car sped off.
Miss Hammill's body was found five minutes later, a mile and a half away, lying in the road. She was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
The court heard that Ashiq had been driving back into Wakefield when he hit Miss Hammill's body in Batley Road, as she was pushed or jumped from her kidnapper's car.
Ashiq, 53, of Conway Road, Wakefield, denies failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident. He admits two counts of having defective tyres on his car.
The court heard that Ashiq had driven into the city centre and told a police officer he thought someone had thrown something at his car and damaged it, according to the prosecution.
But the policeman told him to carry on with his work after finding nothing wrong.
PC Darren Dixon told the hearing he had been approached by an Asian taxi driver in the early hours of Saturday, November 29. He told him he had seen two men messing about on the side of the road, as he drove on the outskirts of Wakefield, one had been pushed into the road.
Ashiq, in the days following the accident, spoke to two friends about the collision following media reports on the death.
He went to police after replacing four of his car's tyres and, according to the prosecution, evidence was also found to suggest the bumper and grille had been cleaned.
Mr Knox told the court: "This defendant has nothing to do with the original abduction of the deceased. These enquiries continue."
West Yorkshire Police accident investigator, John Green, later told the court that the steering rack on Ashiq's taxi had been replaced after the accident.
Plastic clippings were also missing from the bumper, while flesh and blood had been discovered on the underside of the car.
Under cross-examination, Mr Green admitted it was possible that the taxi driver may have been unaware that he had hit a person.
The hearing continues.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 11 February 2012
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