A teenage girl had her toe amputated after she was run over by an Uber delivery driver at a pedestrian crossing, a court heard. Mohamed Omararbab, 54, was driving along Neath Abbey Road in Neath on the evening of April 16 last year.

A teenage girl pressed the button on the crossing and began to cross when instructed to do so by the ‘green man’ icon on the traffic lights. Omararbab, of Woodford Road, Blaenymaes, Swansea, failed to notice that the lights had changed to red and continued to drive, running over the victim’s foot and causing her to fall to the ground.

He had a takeaway delivery bag in his car at the time, and records showed that he was due to deliver food by around 6.50pm on the evening in question, which was the time of the collision. The victim sustained wounds to her big toe and second toe on her right foot and went to Morriston Hospital in Swansea. She underwent an operation but her toe had to be amputated at a later date.

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Omararbab pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving and driving without insurance on account of him not having business insurance at the time of the collision, and appeared to be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Monday (April 8). Prosecution barrister Georgia Donohue read a victim impact statement to the court in which the teenage girl said that her foot remains swollen almost a year after the incident and that she is “very conscious that she has a missing toe”. She also said she gets nervous when travelling in a car and now avoids crossing roads.

In mitigation, defence counsel Hywel Davies said Omararbab was not driving at excessive speed as he was driving along the road, which has a 30mph speed limit, that he expresses remorse and that he has made efforts to apologise to the victim. Mr Davies argued that his client “can be rehabilitated from within the community” and that he is “willing and eager” to pay compensation for what he caused.

Judge Geraint Walters addressed Omararbab in court and said: “Going over a pedestrian crossing and hitting a pedestrian is plainly dangerous driving, not merely careless. You were carrying out some work as an Uber driver delivering food. You had a delivery to make. You obviously were not paying attention as you should have been. You caused her (the victim) significant injury. You drove over her foot which ultimately led to a surgery team having to remove her toe.”

Judge Walters sentenced Omararbab to six months in prison, suspended for two years, and disqualified him from driving for 12 months. He must carry out 250 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £3,000 in compensation to his victim in instalments of £40 a month. For the latest Neath Port Talbot news, sign up to our newsletter here

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