Terrifying revenge of the driver turned away from the party

A drink driver who mounted the pavement and left five pedestrians with life changing injuries after he was refused entry to a private party was jailed for at least 12 years.

Mustafa Esmail, 21, jumped into a white rental VW Golf and ploughed into the group of revellers outside the Red Onion shisha bar in Brixton, southwest London.

Chef Fuad Ahmed, 43, suffered multiple fractures to his arm, a broken ankle, a fractured nose and his eye popped out of its socket after the 38mph collision, the Old Bailey heard.

Esmail had started swinging drunken punches at late night revellers after he was barred entry to the pub in the early hours of 2 December 2017.

Judge John Dodd, QC, said: ‘You drove the car mercilessly and quite deliberately. There is, in my view, something particularly cowardly about the using of a car as a weapon.

‘This was a shocking and terrifying event, fuelled by at least drink.

‘You were turned away because the venue was hosting a private party, you fought with the door staff before beating a retreat.

‘Your parting shot was, however, to say that you would be back. With you at the wheel, that car plainly became a lethal weapon.’

Shauna Ritchie, prosecuting, said: ‘There appears to have been an altercation outside a shisha bar on Stockwell Road.

‘There was a refusal to allow this defendant and others he was with to enter the premises. The altercation began as the result of the fact they weren’t allowed into a party.’

Esmail got behind the wheel of an Ubeeqo rental car as the row escalated.

‘He drove onto the pavement, navigating street furniture including a bin.

‘He drove straight at five people who were standing outside that shisha bar. They each sustained serious injuries.

Judge Dodd said the five men each suffered serious injuries, including ‘broken arms, legs and shoulders.

‘These are the sort of injuries that are likely to resonate down the years. These are horrendous injuries.

‘People standing on a pavement ought to feel safe rather than being mown down by a car.’

‘This was a terrifying incident for all concerned,’ added Ms Ritchie.

Mr Ahmed had now lost his livelihood working as a chef and a mechanic because of the horrific injuries to his arm, ankle and his eye.

‘He said it came out of his head, essentially it is knocked out of its socket,’ explained Ms Ritchie, adding that miraculously Mr Ahmed still has vision in the affected eye.

‘The eye can get dry and extremely painful. He had suffered a broken arm and wrist, it was broken in eight places. He says he will never have full mobility in one hand.

‘He cannot walk without the help of crutches. He explained that he feels he is now dependant on painkillers and also his mental health has suffered as a result of the incident.’

Mr Ahmed told police: ‘In short, this person, the defendant, has ruined my life.’

Esmail also admitted attacking Aaron Thomson with a bottle after selling him a wrap of fake cocaine outside a club in Brighton on 29 January 2017.

‘The complainant went to the Coalition nightclub in Brighton, he had drunk a considerable amount of alcohol himself,’ said the prosecutor.

Ms Ritchie told how Thomson and his friend left the club in the early hours: ‘They were approached by a group of men and they were separated.

‘They offered to sell him drugs and he purchased a gram of white powder, believed to be cocaine.

‘He asked for more money after handing it over,’ explained Ms Ritchie.

‘He was struck to the back of the head with what appeared to be a bottle, he recieved a number of punches to the head.

The court heard Mr Thomson, ‘sustained injuries to his neck, head and face.’

Esmail then punched and kicked the clubber to the head as he lay on the floor before picking up a bottle and hitting him a final time.

The prosecutor told the court that Esmail also has a conviction for assaulting his mother after she asked him to tidy his bedroom.

Lalith de Kauwe, defending Esmail, said: ‘He knows that what he did was wrong. This is an intelligent young man my Lord, his life has been completely wasted.

‘He regrets what happened profusely.’

Esmail, of no fixed address, admitted five charges of causing grevious bodily harm with intent and a single count actual bodily harm against Mr Thomson.

The prosecution offered no evidence on five counts of attempted murder in respect of the driving incident.

Esmail was jailed for 12 years and given an extended license period of four additional years.

He received nine months concurrent for the attack in Brighton.