Taxi driver who struck pregnant woman on busy street loses bid to overturn conviction
A taxi driver who struck a pregnant woman on a busy Dublin street has lost a bid to overturn his conviction for careless driving.
Muhammad Butt (44) of Linnetsfield Court, Castaheany, Blanchardstown, Dublin 12, had pleaded not guilty to careless driving under section 52 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961.
The District Court Appeals Court heard that Butt was driving with clients on Queen Street, Smithfield Dublin 7 on August 19, 2023 when he collided with a woman.
Mary Collins, the injured party, yesterday told the court that she was walking across the road when the car “came out of nowhere” and hit her.
She said that at the time she was five months pregnant and suffered a large bruise on her stomach from the crash.
She said: “I was screaming about my baby because I was hit so hard. I’m still having flashbacks from what happened.”
Mr Butt told the court that the injured party appeared in front of him “out of the blue” after he had changed lanes and he turned the car to avoid her as much as he could. He argued that she was “running between busy lanes, had no right of way and paid no attention”.
“She threw herself onto the car after I saved her,” Butt claimed.
Garda Stephen Lacey, who was on patrol in the area, said that when he arrived on the scene, Ms Collins had a visible injury to her right leg and ankle. He said that he observed damage to Mr Butt’s right wing mirror.
Judge Fiona O’Sullivan said she accepted the prosecution’s case that Mr Butt pulled out of his lane without indicating and sped up.
She said that overall she accepted the evidence of Ms Collins and was satisfied that Butt was driving with “a lack of care and attention”.
Judge O’Sullivan affirmed the District Court order that Mr Butt should pay a fine of 110 euro within 12 months.