'Road rage' driver who deliberately drove car into cyclist in Sharrow, Sheffield, narrowly escapes jail term

The cyclist was left with an injury to his right shin which required four stitches, a back injury, and fairly substantial grazes to his bottom, following the incident on August 8, 2019.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how in the minutes leading up to the assault, the cyclist encountered defendant Tanveer Ahmed while Ahmed was driving his car on Sharrow Vale Road, Sharrow.

"He [the cyclist] thought he had right of way and went around Mr Ahmed… he then realised Mr Ahmed was driving right up behind him, driving six inches away from his back,” prosecution barrister Tom Heath told the court, during a hearing on February 17.

Mr Heath said Ahmed, 39, was revving his engine during the altercation, and after it had ended, the cyclist found himself travelling a short distance behind Ahmed due to them travelling on a one-way street, both headed in the same direction.

The cyclist then saw Ahmed’s vehicle again on the approach to Hunter’s Bar roundabout, while it was stopped in traffic, and he went up to the vehicle and ‘tapped’ one of Ahmed’s wing mirrors.

“The cyclist carried on and the lights changed and Mr Ahmed came past and was revving his engine again,” said Mr Heath.

In a bid to get away from Ahmed, the cyclist turned into Neill Road, Sharrow, but was pursued by Ahmed.

Mr Heath said: "He tried to get in between two parked cars, and as he did, he saw Ahmed drive into the back of his bike, flinging him on to the tarmac.”

Members of the public rushed to the cyclist’s aid, while Ahmed, of Wellgate, Rotherham, quickly fled the scene.

In addition to his injuries, the cyclist also had to replace his £7,000 bicycle as a result of the assault, and the court heard that it cost £10,839.80 to buy another one of the same specification.

In a statement read to the court, the cyclist said he now no longer ‘takes the same level of enjoyment’ in cycling, adding that the incident had also left him with a back injury that hindered his ability to cycle and to play with his daughter.

Ahmed was arrested around two hours after the incident, and in police interview he claimed the cyclist had been ‘the aggressor’ and had also ‘smashed’ his wing mirror.

The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson, asked Mr Heath whether Ahmed’s claim about his wing mirror being smashed was correct.

Mr Heath replied: “In fairness to the defendant, there is a photograph which shows damage to the wing mirror.”

Ahmed pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing.

Probation officer Linda McCuish interviewed Ahmed for a pre-sentence report and told the court that Ahmed had reiterated the account he gave to the police and claimed the cyclist ‘was cycling in the middle of the road’.

She added: “He said that at the time he was having some family concerns and said he was feeling shocked by what had happened during this altercation.”

Judge Richardson said Ahmed’s behaviour had amounted to ‘road rage’ and was ‘disgraceful’.

He sentenced him to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years; 250 hours of unpaid work; a three-month curfew; a 10-session rehabilitation activity requirement and ordered him to pay £1,000 in compensation, after hearing Ahmed earns around the same sum per month.

Ahmed was told that had he pleaded not guilty, and allowed the case to go a trial, he would have gone straight to prison.

Judge Richardson then described Ahmed’s driving as ‘deplorable,’ but acknowledged there had been an ‘element of provocation’, referring to the damage caused to his wing mirror.

“You’ve escaped prison by a very narrow margin,” he added.