Fleeing petrol thief left Wakefield fuel-station worker in vegetative state after running him over
A petrol thief who tried to flee a forecourt callously ran over a worker who tried to stop him, leaving him with life-long brain damage.
The worker was left with tyre marks across his chest when teenager Taghan Bal purposely ploughed into him at the Esso garage on Castleford Road, Normanton, in October last year.
The worker, who was 23 at the time, suffered life-changing injuries and it was initially thought he would not survive.
He later woke up in hospital, but remains unable to speak or interact with his environment, Leeds Crown Court heard.
Bal, 19, was jailed today after admitting causing serious injury through dangerous driving, fraudulently using a false registration plate, and making off without payment.
The judge said Bal had done “everything he could to save his own skin”.
Prosecutor Michael Morley said Bal and his friend Aderoju Adeniran had made their way from the south of England to Leeds for a car-cruise club meet on October 20 last year. They were in separate cars with Bal in his powerful Audi S3.
After the police intercepted the gathering, the pair planned to head back down south but decided to steal the fuel needed to get them there.
They removed their number plates and replaced them with false plates to prevent them being identified, and put their hoods up to obscure their faces from the forecourt cameras.
Both filled up with fuel, with Bal putting in around £40 worth. Then then got into their respective cars and drove off. Adeniran got away, but the worker came out with a broom and tried to stop Bal.
Bal reversed, then drove forward at speed, striking the worker and then driving over his body. Witnesses said Bal then drove off “like he was racing”.
Bal then arranged to get his damaged windscreen fixed and had a social media conversation with a pal, telling him he “was f*****” and “finished”, realising the extent of the crimes he had committed.
Meanwhile, two off-duty paramedics happened to be passing and came to the critically-injured man’s aid. One said they were the worst trauma injuries they had seen in 15 years of service.
The tyre marks of the Audi were visible on his chest and he was taken to hospital where he was found to have multiple bleeds to the brain, internal bleeding, broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
His family were told the injuries were not survivable and he was put on a ventilator. But after about 10 days his conditions approved and he eventually opened his eyes.
However, nine months on, his condition remains poor and it is expected to be left severely disabled, have communication issues and will require indefinite care.
Mr Morley said the man’s family were left devastated and their lives “have been turned upside down”.
The man had been working at the garage which was run by his sister and brother in law.
Mitigating, Benjamin Myers KC said Bal had “expressed real remorse for what he had done”, was aware of the impact on the victim and his family. He said that Bal’s family were also “distraught at what their son had done”.
He pointed out that he had no previous convictions and the lack of maturity caused by his age.
Judge Richard Mansell KC said Bal did not give the injured man a “moment’s thought”.
He told him: “In short, you have ruined an innocent man’s life by your selfish and reckless actions - all for a tank full of fuel.”
He blasted Bal’s initial excuses - claiming the worker came out and began hitting his car first with the broom, that he became scared and drove off in a panic. Judge Mansell called it “palpable nonsense”.
He added: “I do not accept you are truly and genuinely remorseful. If you were you would have stopped and gone back to the scene, or called the police.
“Instead, you have done everything you could that night to save your own skin.”
Bal, of Wyatts Green Road, Wyatts Green, Essex , was jailed for 34 months.
He was banned from driving for four years and five months and told he must take an extended re-test to get his licence back.
Bal’s friend from that fateful evening, 31-year-old Aderoju Adeniran, of Central Street, Islington, was jailed for two months in January after admitting making off without payment and fraudulent use of registration plates.