Wigan social worker denies racing his brother before crash which killed man on mobility scooter

A father of five has denied he and his brother were racing their cars along a Wigan road just moments before a collision with a man on a mobility scooter.
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Noormohammed Yusuf, 31, told a jury at Manchester Crown Court that he and his brother Hanzah Yusuf, 21, were heading along Poolstock Lane in the same direction, but he did not see the crash involving his brother’s car.

The Vauxhall Zafira hit 53-year-old Michael Smith, who was riding a mobility scooter, shortly after 8.50pm on February 28, 2019, causing fatal injuries.

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Hanzah Yusuf, of Park Lane, Abram, was driving the car and has admitted causing death by driving dangerously.

Michael SmithMichael Smith
Michael Smith

Noormohammed Yusuf, of the same address, denies the same offence and is currently on trial.

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Two cars sped along Wigan road moments before man on mobility scooter was hit, c...

The court heard Noormohammed was employed by Wigan Council as a social worker and had attended an open event that evening at Masjid Tooba and Islamic Centre, on Clifford Street, Worsley Mesnes, in a professional capacity.

He was seen on CCTV footage leaving with his brother and another family member. He drove off in a Volvo S40 while the others got in the Vauxhall Zafira.

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Noormohammed said he was planning to drive to Bolton, where he lived at that time, and assumed his brother would be driving to his home in Abram.

He told the jury he saw his brother’s car behind his as they left the mosque and went onto Clifford Street.

Noormohammed then turned left onto Poolstock Lane and police have calculated he was driving at 53mph in the 30mph zone. He told the jury he did not realise he was speeding.

He said: “I felt I was driving safely and I was in control of the car. Yes, I was speeding, but I didn’t feel I was going at 53mph.”

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When asked if he was driving that fast because he was racing his brother, he said: “Not at all”.

He said he did not see his brother’s car again, but noticed a queue of cars with red brake lights on the opposite side of the road and thought there had been an accident. He could not see the Vauxhall Zafira or any other cars in his rear-view mirror, so decided to pull over.

Noormohammed ran towards the scene of the collision and did not initially see his brother, but Hanzah then ran towards him.

Noormohammad asked where his car was and his brother told him. As well as hitting Mr Smith, the vehicle had gone through a fence and crashed into a van parked outside a house.

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He said he was “amazed” his brother was able to walk after being in the driver’s seat of the car.

The court heard previously Noormohammed told someone he lived in the house where the van was parked, something he said he did not remember saying.

He said: “I do remember at that moment there’s quite a lot of people there at the scene. I was talking to my brother, trying to reassure him and work out what’s happened, what’s he done. There were a lot of people pointing fingers.”

The court heard Mr Smith was seriously hurt in the collision and died at Wigan Infirmary at 9.45pm from multiple injuries.

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Hanzah was arrested at 9.50pm and Noormohammed was arrested at 12.38am the next day, both on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

When interviewed by police, Noormohammed gave a prepared statement denying he had been driving dangerously, was responsible for the collision or had been driving in tandem with another vehicle.

He answered “no comment” to all other questions from the police, something he told the jury he had been advised to do by a legal advisor.

The court heard he was previously convicted of driving without due care and intention after a crash in the early hours of December 27, 2017 when he was returning from a petrol station and went through a red traffic light.

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In a statement, social worker Michael Watson, who worked with Noormohammed in Wigan, described him as a “dedicated father”, “a valued member of our team”, and “charitable and generous with his time and money”.

Fiona Green, who had known Noormohammed and his family since 2013, said he was “polite, respectful to others” and that family was “very important” to him.

Proceeding.

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