Covid doctor cleared of killing red light biker

A doctor fighting to find a coronavirus cure has today (Thurs) been cleared of killing a motorcyclist who jumped a right light.

Dr Mohammad Tahir, 45, was at the wheel of a black Toyota Prius Thomas Bailey, 35, crashed into him on the Chelsea Embankment on 4 October 2017.

Dr Tahir got out of his car and tried to treat Mr Bailey but knew as he felt his weakening pulse there was nothing he could do.

After the fatal crash, he provided drug and drink samples which came back clear and experts ruled out any possibility he was holding his mobile phone when the crash happened at 6.41am.

Mr Bailey went through a red light while travelling at between 30 and 40 mph in the early hours of the morning.

But prosecutors claimed Dr Tahir was to blame for the crash because he began to turn right in a box junction without looking for oncoming drivers.

But a jury of seven men and five women rejected that argument and brought the doctor’s ordeal to a close today (Thurs) after just three and half hours of deliberation.

John Dyer QC, representing Dr Tahir said to the jury in his closing address: ‘We do not punish people for accidents, we punish them for crimes. The stakes are high in this case.

‘Had Mr Bailey not driven in that way, we would not be here in court 16 of the Old Bailey. Mr Bailey’s actions are crucial to the decision you have to make.

‘I invite you to put Dr Tahir out of his misery and find him not guilty.’

Dr Tahir’s family, including his wife, sat in the gallery throughout the trial, which heard he been driving since 1994, and qualified as a General Practitioner in 1999.

Reliving the incident Dr Tahir turned to the jury and said: ‘I still haven’t come to terms with it.

‘I think about Mr Bailey and his family a lot. There loss is obviously far greater than what I am going through now, but also I feel bad about the fact that I am not the same person for my family or my colleagues.’

‘I was quite relaxed because I thought immediately I am a doctor, I need to help him. I knelt down by his side and checked his airways.

‘I could see he was taking very shallow breaths. I felt for a pulse in the neck and could feel it was very weak which I am afraid is a bad sign.

‘He was not responding to me saying: “Hello sir, can you hear me?” ‘

The doctor insisted he had no chance to avoid the collision with Mr Bailey’s car.

‘At the time I had quite a lot of blood on my hands,’ the doctor continued.

‘The police officer gave me a tissue and he said “It will be alright don’t worry”. I remember him because he was thoughtful and there.

‘I had broken down by then. I think the adreniline got to me. I realised there had been a fatality and I had been involved in that fatality.’

Dr Tahir, of Slough, denied causing death by careless driving and was cleared.

The married father of five said: ‘One of the GP surgeries I run is in Brent, as a lot of you will know Brent has had a particularly high number of coronavirus cases.

‘So, I set up a coronavirus clinic with my team. I have been running that for several weeks now. I have hundreds of patients a day. We do home visits for patients with Covid.

‘I also run a trial centre for a drug to treat Covid.’

He explained to jurors he had taken a few days off work after the crash and then returned.

The doctor declined to comment as he left court.

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