Panicdriver smashed othervehicle

A driver who crashed into a pregnant woman’s car as he fled from police avoided jail last week.

Sami Altoky blamed his offending on the traumatic effects of his upbringing in Iraq, including witnessing his uncle’s execution.

Hamilton Sheriff Court heard that police officers leapt to safety when the vehicle reversed at speed.

Altoky, 25, of Gallowhill Road, Paisley, admitted driving dangerously and without insurance.

The incident happened in Lindsay Drive, Motherwell, around 10am on June 4, 2019.

Neil Thomson, prosecuting, said the plain clothes officers were waiting for Altoky when he drove into the street and parked outside a woman’s house.

The woman was in the driveway at the time and the officers moved their car to block Altoky’s Volkswagen Golf.

They approached the Golf with warrant cards, but as soon as they said “Police” Altoky reversed at speed.

Mr Thomson told the court: “The officers had to leap out of the way and, indeed, one pulled the woman he had been talking to clear as well.

“The Golf collided with the police vehicle and the accused accelerated over the garden and onto the road where he crashed into a stationary car occupied by a woman and her two-year-old child. The vehicles he hit sustained significant damage. No one was injured, but the witnesses were shaken.”

Altoky abandoned his car on a dirt track and took a taxi back to Paisley, but was traced through DNA.

Defence agent Diarmid Bruce said Altoky’s behaviour was down to “hyper vigilance” linked to his troubled upbringing.

The solicitor stated: “He came to Scotland from Iraq when he was 10 and doesn’t like to talk about what happened earlier.

“When he was eight his uncle had his throat cut in front of him in a public execution. During this incident with the police he panicked.

“I understand from people who have suffered from PTSD that hyper vigilance is a common thread.”

After studying a psychologist’s report, Sheriff Linda Nicolson decided not to impose a custodial sentence.

Altoky will be electronically tagged for 35 weeks and was banned from driving for almost three years.