Man jailed after ramming soldier with car outside Yorkshire nightclub
Victim left with eye, rib and lung injuries and requires ongoing PTSD treatment
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A driver who rammed a car into a soldier, after aiming for another man following an altercation, has been jailed for eight years.
Hamza Ali Hussain drove towards a group of revellers on 1 January after his friends were involved in a “minor altercation” inside the TBC nightclub in Batley, West Yorkshire.
The 23-year-old was not in the nightclub during the argument but became “enraged” when told about it later, Leeds Crown Court heard.
He drove a friend’s rental car towards the group, aiming for the man they identified as the one responsible for the altercation.
Instead Hussain hit Joshua Adams Mitchell, who had stepped backwards into the road and into the path of the Merecdes C63 car.
The victim was thrown on to the vehicle’s windscreen.
He was hurled across the top of the car and then travelled 20-30 yards from the collision, before landing in the road.
The 22-year-old was left with debilitating wounds, including facial fractures, injuries to his knee and a damaged right eye.
He also sustained rib and lung injuries and PTSD.
Hussain continued to accelerate as he hit Mr Adams-Mitchell and made no attempt to brake, the court heard.
The driver fled the scene but was arrested the following day.
The court heard that Hussain had never passed a driving test and has also been banned from getting behind the wheel for nine years.
Mr Adams-Mitchell said the ramming had left him worried and paranoid that “people were after him.”
”He is currently signed off as unable to work in a military role,” Jonathan Sharp, the prosecuting barrister, said of the victim.
“His future career in the army may be dependent on his recovery from PTSD and his knee injury, which require continued treatment.
Tommy Robinson and other far-right figures have circulated unsubstantiated claims about the ramming, suggesting that it was a terrorist attack and that Mr Adams-Mitchell had been targeted due to his military service.
But Robin Mairs, the judge overseeing proceedings, said Hussain had acted for no political reason.
Mr Hussain pleaded guilty in February to a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
“There had been minor altercations within the club,” Mr Mairs said.
“It is unclear what the nature of those were and they were, as I stress, minor altercations.
“There’s no evidence of any dispute you had with Mr Adams-Mitchell, in particular I do not find any political motivation, on the evidence to have struck him with your car.
“There’s no reason or justification for your actions that morning.
“This was in the street outside a nightclub on one of the busiest nights of the year.
“Your missed your intended victim and struck the unfortunate Mr Adams-Mitchell instead.
“It is clear the effect this has had upon hos daily life.
“His social and familial relationships, it has damaged them substantially, it has changed this outlook on life and his confidence is substantially impaired.
Robin Frieze, the defence barrister, said in mitigation that Hussain was “desperately sorry to the complainant and his family.
“He bears him no ill will at all and is appalled at what he did in the heat of the moment,” he said.
Police officers welcomed Hussain’s eight-year jail term.
“Hussain’s actions that day were reckless and violent,” said DI Mark Catney of West Yorkshire Police.
“He deliberately drove his car into a crowded area outside a busy nightclub on New Year’s Day.
Mr Catney added that he hoped the sentence would provide Mr Adams-Mitchell “with closure and justice following this terrible ordeal.
Additional reporting by agencies