A mother-of-seven left a woman confined to a wheelchair after she accidentally ploughed a brand new SUV into her while testing it on the forecourt of a car dealership.
Mature student Hayat Ibrhim, 36, had been having trouble driving her £40,000 Nissan X-Trail so she asked a salesman to show her how to use the controls.
But as the staff member helped her work the pedals and brake, Ibrhim mistakenly put her foot on the accelerator, a court heard.
The SUV – weighing almost two tons – shot forwards, colliding into the back of Karen Smaali, who was herself purchasing a new vehicle.
The 55-year-old – who was due to undergo a hip operation due to mobility problems – had been hoping the purchase would give her more independence.
Instead she sustained severe head and leg injuries in the 30mph impact at Lookers Nissan in Chester and was left in a coma for ten days.
During her stay in hospital the mother-of-three developed sepsis in her left leg which had to be amputated and she also suffered a stroke.
She is now confined to a wheelchair and will never walk again.
Mrs Smaali, an ethnic minorities housing support officer from Wrexham, relived the accident at Chester magistrates court.
Ibrhim, from Anfield, Liverpool, was sentenced to 26 weeks in custody suspended for 24 months.
She was also banned from driving for two years after she admitted causing serious injury by careless driving.
‘I had hoped buying a new car was going to give me independence,’ Mrs Smaali told the hearing.
‘I was excited and I was going to make a day of collecting the car. I even wore new clothes.
‘I remember the lady and her family walking into the car dealership and the next thing I felt a vehicle go into my leg.
‘My body was pushed forward and I hit my head on the boot of my car.
‘I lost my vision and I thought there was blood pouring in my eyes.
‘I remember hearing screaming and it took a while to realise that it was in fact me screaming.
‘I remember someone saying “Cut her clothes” and I was angry because they were my new clothes and because at that time I had not comprehended what happened.’
Mrs Smaali said when she came round from being in a coma and was told she had lost her leg, her first thought was ‘I wish they had let me die’.
Now instead of enjoying family time and walking her dog, her life revolves around trips to hospital, she added.
‘I can no longer walk Scooby and I feel I have lost the freedom I had in my life.
‘All my life I have been tough but I am really struggling to come to terms with the loss of my leg and the impact will have on me for the rest of my life.’
Mrs Smaali said her sons now had to act as her carers, leaving her feeling guilty, while she is blighted by phantom pains and nightmares.
‘They often start off with something totally unrelated to the incident but always end up progressing to the collision,’ she told the court.
‘My neighbours have stated that they have heard me screaming at night.
‘I wake up every morning thinking I still have a leg thinking the amputation was just a nightmare I am just waking up from.
‘Whatever justice is served in the court room would not compare with what I have to cope with for the rest of my life.
‘The biggest impact is the loss of dignity.‘
The incident occurred on March 13 when both women were collecting their new cars.
Lisa McGuire, prosecuting, said: ‘The defendant has trouble moving her car off and is shown how to engage the vehicle by a member of staff from Lookers.
‘He takes time to show her how to move the vehicle, but the vehicle accelerates suddenly and it strikes the victim who is standing a few metres away.‘
In mitigation for Ibrhim, Oliver Jarvis said his client had been driving for ten years without issue.
Accepting that everyone in court would have been ‘deeply moved’ by Mrs Smaali’s words, he insisted that his client was ‘torn up by the injury she caused’.
He said the garage worker demonstrated ‘releasing the electronic handbrake, pressing and holding the foot brake, pressing the start engine button and then releasing the foot brake’.
‘But it is clear that she has made an error in terms of the right pedal – hence the vehicle shooting forward.‘
He said four of Ibrhm’s children suffer from a rare genetic disorder and her life revolves around taking and collecting the youngsters around various schools and hospital appointments.
Mr Jarvis added: ‘She takes responsibility for her actions and she does not minimise the offence in any way.
‘She is deeply, deeply sorry.’
Ibrhm was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £239 in costs and surcharge.
She must pass an extended driving retest before she can get her licence back.
In freeing Ibrhm, Deputy District Judge Owen Jones said he took into account her clean driving record plus the ‘devastating impact’ imprisoning her would have on her children.
‘But this was a brief incident which had catastrophic consequences resulting in life-changing injuries,’ he added.
