Naveed Rahmad ploughed into the popular Alsager café Ey Up Duck
A car wash worker crashed into a Cheshire café while drunk behind the wheel of a customer's Range Rover. Naveed Rahman was working at Prestige Bubbles in Alsager when he drove the car with the owner's consent.
He then lost control and hit a parked lorry and the popular café Eh Up Duck, causing extensive damage. The 34-year-old then tried to to do a runner before he was detained, reports Stoke-on-Trent Live.
It happened just weeks after Rahman assaulted his partner. Now, he has been jailed for the assault at North Staffordshire Justice Centre with magistrates sending the other matters to Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
Prosecutor Emily Pybus said the owner of a black Range Rover took it to be valeted at Prestige Bubbles car wash in Linley Road on June 15. But the defendant, who worked at the garage, decided to take it for a drive without getting permission first. Miss Pybus said: "On Station Road he collided with a parked lorry which caused a collision with the rear of business premises.
"It caused extensive damage to a rear wall and the gas pipe was severed. A massive amount of damage was caused within the premises and the area had to be cordoned off by police. People were evacuated from their homes while the area was made safe due to the gas pipe being severed.
"Immediately following the collision, the defendant alighted from the driver's seat carrying a bag. He looked at the damage caused and started to make off.
"A member of the public witnessed the incident and saw the defendant. There was a short verbal exchange. The man told him he needed to remain at the scene.
"The defendant sat down with some food from the bag and proceeded to eat. He calmly sat and waited for the police to arrive. The police arrived and arrested the defendant."
Police detected a strong smell of alcohol coming from the defendant and he provided a positive roadside breath test which gave a reading of 157 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - almost four-and-a-half times the legal limit of 35.
He was taken to custody and then to hospital. But he refused to provide a sample of blood and was arrested for failing to provide a specimen.
The court heard the Range Rover, worth £9,000, has been written off by the owner's insurance company. Miss Pybus added: "There is also a compensation claim from the proprietor of the business premises the defendant drove into. It is a substantial claim for compensation of £42,000 given that the business had to be closed for a month, loss of earnings, loss of staff wages being paid, loss caused from the equipment and various items stored within the premises."
Rahman also assaulted his partner on May 7. The court heard police received a call from a neighbour who said a woman was asking for a knife to be put down.
Miss Pybus said: "The defendant grabbed the woman around the neck. Police arrived and a neighbour heard the disturbance. He heard a woman shouting, 'Put the knife down', and recorded the disturbance on a mobile.
"The woman had left when officers arrived but she was located and confirmed the defendant had assaulted her. She said he punched her to the back of her head at a friend's house and slapped her face causing reddening to her cheek and eye. They went back to the defendant's house where he pushed her, causing a graze to her right elbow."
The court was told the defendant was also in breach of a six week suspended jail sentence he received for an assault on a taxi driver.
Rahman, of Woodshutts Street, Talke, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking; driving without a licence; driving without insurance; failing to provide a specimen for analysis; common assault; and breach of a suspended sentence order.
Osman Mahmood, mitigating, said the victim of the assault did not make a statement to the police and the defendant could have denied the offence and tested the prosecution evidence. He added: "The defendant has a 10-year alcohol addiction that has caused him to lose contact with his son. He needs to change. He understands the error of his ways and is remorseful."
Magistrates sent the driving matters to Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court and Rahman will appear there for sentence on a date to be fixed. They jailed him for 11 weeks for the assault and the breach of the suspended sentence order. He was ordered to pay a £128 surcharge.
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