A taxi driver who chased another motorist through Liverpool streets and deliberately rammed his car three times has been given a suspended prison sentence after a judge said new legislation left him no option but to let him walk free.
Hawkar Karimi, 37, of Salisbury Road in Wavertree, admitted dangerous driving at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday. The court heard he was involved in a road rage incident with another man shortly after 7pm on September 13 last year, after both drivers missed a green light at a junction.
Karimi's own dashcam footage showed the two men exchanging blows in the road before he got back into his Hackney carriage and chased the other male, driving dangerously around the L15 area. He travelled at speed along residential streets and ran a red light while pursuing the other man along Durning Road and Botanic Road.
Three deliberate collisions
Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, said Karimi collided with the rear of the vehicle he was chasing on three occasions, with the final shunt pushing the car out into Edge Lane and into a wall near furniture store Patsy's Place. The other driver had fled his vehicle seconds beforehand and ran away along Edge Lane.
Karimi was arrested at the scene and told police he was 'annoyed' after suspecting the other man was using his mobile phone at the junction. He said he beeped his horn, leading to the altercation, and that he 'wanted to sort things out like a man' but 'didn't intend to fight'. He denied intending to ram the other car on the second occasion, claiming he lost control of his brakes, but said he 'regretted his behaviour' and described it as 'classless, uneducated and very stupid'.
Mitigation and remorse
Matthew Cullen, defending, told the court that Karimi flagged down police himself to alert them to what had happened. He said there was 'clear remorse' and that Karimi was the main breadwinner for his dependant wife and six-year-old son, describing the incident as 'an irrational, last minute, panic driven decision which is out of character'.
Cullen noted Karimi's 36 years as a functioning member of society, his 12-year no claims bonus, and his record of assisting members of the public, including taking a man who had been stabbed by a bottle in Liverpool city centre to hospital. He said Karimi would inevitably lose his job as a taxi driver, which 'will act as a form of punishment'.
Suspended sentence
Judge Stuart Driver KC labelled the driving 'disgraceful' and said in his sentencing remarks: 'I believe you deserve to go to prison for this, but there are no exceptional circumstances. Therefore, legislation means that the sentence must be suspended.'
Referencing measures brought in under the Sentencing Act 2026 in March this year, meaning sentences of 12 months or less must be suspended in all but exceptional circumstances, the judge handed Karimi a 12-month imprisonment suspended for a year, with 100 hours of unpaid work and a 12-month probation requirement. He was also banned from driving for 30 months and must pass an extended retest before being allowed back behind the wheel.
