A minicab driver who killed a five-year-old boy and seriously injured his own son when his electric car surged forward in a south London car park has denied careless driving charges, claiming the vehicle moved on its own.
Ashenafei Demissie, 53, was sitting inside his Volkswagen ID.4 outside his flat near London Bridge Station when it struck Fareed Amir and Demissie’s 12-year-old son, Raphael, on 25 November 2022. The car also struck five parked vehicles before coming to a stop.
Fareed died at Guy’s Hospital from a fractured skull. Raphael suffered multiple leg fractures and spent four weeks hospitalized.
Demissie is on trial at the Old Bailey, charged with death and serious injury by careless driving. He denies both charges.
The incident occurred in Borough, south London, in November 2022. The two families had been close friends for 13 years, and Fareed called Demissie “Uncle Ash.”
According to testimony at the trial, Demissie had offered Fareed a sweet while seated in his car. Fareed’s mother, Rosa, who is also known as Maryam Lemulu, refused the treat for her son. Moments later, the electric car suddenly accelerated forward.
Demissie claims the vehicle jumped forward of its own accord. His defense lawyer, Steven Knight, has asserted that Demissie did not press the accelerator and that the car moved of its own accord.
Demissie told police that he believed Fareed triggered a sensor on the vehicle. He said he tried to brake but described the incident as happening within a second.
However, Metropolitan Police traffic collision investigator Mark Still offered starkly different conclusions after examining the Volkswagen in December 2022. Still, a police expert, found no mechanical defects in the 11-month-old vehicle, which had 19,132 miles on it at the time of the collision.
Still told jurors he was unable to find any defect that contributed to the collision and found no faults with the operation of the vehicle, including steering, brake and acceleration.
Still testified that the car was in perfect working order and could not move without driver input. The expert concluded that pedal misapplication occurred—meaning Demissie pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.
Prosecutor Michael Williams questioned Still about whether anything could have caused the car to move forward without physical action from the driver. Still replied in the negative.
The expert described a phenomenon in which drivers mistakenly press the accelerator while believing their foot is on the brake. When the vehicle begins moving, the driver presses harder on what they think is the brake pedal, actually accelerating the car further.
Under cross-examination by Williams, the prosecutor suggested that Demissie believed his car was in park mode and went to put his foot on the brake to shift out of park, but accidentally pressed the accelerator instead. Williams proposed that Demissie continued pressing what he thought was the brake while actually pressing the accelerator.
Demissie rejected this theory, responding that there is a difference between an accelerator and brake.
The court heard that Demissie had been driving for 21 years and worked as a minicab driver for Addison Lee. At the time of the incident, he was working seven days a week.
During his testimony, Demissie described his feet as being stationary on the floor of the car before the vehicle moved.
When asked by his defense lawyer where his feet were during the incident, Demissie stated they remained on the floor and that he did not move them until after the car started moving. He said he subsequently hit the brake two to three times before the vehicle came to a stop after colliding with the parked vehicles.
The court heard that after the collision, Fareed was taken to Guy’s Hospital, where he died from his injuries. Meanwhile, Demissie remained with his son Raphael, who required a month of hospitalization for his injuries.
Demissie was also married to Yodit Samuel, who had been friends with Fareed’s mother. The families had known each other for 17 years, according to some accounts, though other testimony indicated 13 years of friendship.
The defense’s claim that Fareed triggered a sensor on the vehicle has not been substantiated by the expert’s examination.
The prosecution has maintained that Demissie’s actions constituted careless driving. The charges of causing death and serious injury by careless driving require proof that the defendant’s driving fell below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver.
Demissie broke down in tears while giving evidence about the incident and its aftermath. He described feeling happy before the tragedy and noted that Fareed had seemed excited in the moments before the collision.
The trial at the Old Bailey continues, with jurors expected to hear additional evidence before deliberating on the charges. The case has drawn attention to questions about electric vehicle safety and driver responsibility in an era of increasing electrification of the automotive fleet.