An electric car that killed a five-year-old boy suddenly jumped forward after the boy touched an external sensor, the driver told police.
Ashenafei Demissie, 53, was driving an electric Volkswagen ID.4 when it struck five-year-old Fareed Amir and Demissie’s own 12-year-old son, Raphael, in a car park outside his flat near London Bridge Station.
Fareed later died in hospital from a fractured skull, which Demissie says was the ‘worst news’ of his life.
Demissie has denied causing death by careless driving and causing serious injury by careless driving, claiming the car moved on its own due to a fault.
A senior Metropolitan Police collision expert told jurors on Wednesday there was no mechanical defect and no way the vehicle could have moved without driver input.
However, during a police interview on the day of the incident heard in court, Demissie repeatedly blamed Fareed for making the car jump forward, saying he was touching the sensor and may have touched a wire.
Demissie said he had taken Raphael to school that morning before working as a taxi driver until 1.15pm before going to have lunch and watch the 2022 World Cup.
The Old Bailey heard that the incident took place in a car park outside Demissie’s flat near London Bridge on November 25, 2022 as Fareed was walking home from primary school with his mother, Maryam Lemulu.
The first picture released of Fareed Amir who was killed when a family friend’s electric car allegedly ran over him
Ashenafei Demisse claims the vehicle moved after Fareed touched an external sensor
Demisse denies the charges against him. Pictured: Demissie outside the Old Bailey on Tuesday
They stopped to speak to Demissie’s wife, Yodit Samuel, who had known Ms Lemulu for 13 years. Fareed reportedly called Demissie ‘Uncle Ash’.
Prosecutor Michael Williams said the Volkswagen suddenly shot forward after Demissie, a taxi driver, offered Fareed a treat from inside the car.
The vehicle hit both boys before crashing into five other parked cars and coming to a stop.
Fareed’s mother carried him to Guy’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Raphael spent a month in hospital after breaking both legs.
Giving evidence through an Amharic interpreter, the official language of Ethiopia, on Thursday, Demissie said he would see Fareed and his mother every day as they were ‘like family’.
He said Fareed came to the window of his car as he wanted to offer him a lollypop but Fareed’s mother told him not to give him the sweet saying they had stopped giving them then.
Demissie said Fareed was ‘touching the car’ and playing with Raphael in front of the car.
He said the car then ‘jumped’ and ‘the women started screaming’, but insisted his feet were on the floor.
‘It happened within a second,’ he said.
‘I tried to hit the brake, I tried to steer.’
Asked if he managed to hit the brake pedal, he said he ‘hit it two, three times’ but it was not effective.
He added that the car stopped because it hit the other cars, and when he got out of the vehicle, he saw Fareed in front of the car.
‘I took off my jacket and I tried to stop the bleeding,’ he said.
‘Raphael was screaming.’
He said paramedics then arrived and took over the care of Raphael before he was taken to hospital.
Demissie remained at the scene talking to the police and later found out Fareed had died.
‘I was hurt because the worst news of my life. Never ending pain.’
Defence barrister Stephen Knight asked: ‘Did you press the accelerator to cause this collision?’
‘Never, I didn’t touch it,’ Demissie said.
During a police interview on the day of the incident, he told police: ‘I had brought some sweets and offered one to Fareed. He came round the side of the car but Rosa said not to give it to him.
‘Fareed was by the sensor in front of the car and suddenly the car jumped.
‘I believe the car jumped because Fareed triggered the sensor.
‘I have been driving 21 years and never seen anything like it. I’ve never experienced any mechanical problems with the car before.
‘I stopped the car pressing the brake pedal with my foot. I took my foot off the pedals.’
In the interview, he blamed Fareed for making the car surge forward, claiming he was touching the external sensor and may have touched a wire.
He told police he was sorry for Fareed’s death and wanted to offer his condolences to his family.
The Old Bailey heard the incident happened on 25 November 2022 as Fareed (pictured) was walking home from primary school with his mother, Maryam Lemulu
Mark Still, a Senior Forensic Collision Investigator for the Metropolitan Police, told the jury he examined the year old Volkswagen and found no faults that could explain the crash.
‘I was unable to make the car accelerate without driver input,’ he told the court on Wednesday.
Mr Still said the vehicle could not be put into gear without a foot on the brake and there were no issues with the braking system. A mechanical examination found no fault with the operation of the vehicle.
He explained that while the car had cruise control, it could only accelerate automatically if a driver deliberately set a speed and pressed the accelerator and even then, pressing the brake would immediately override the system.
Mr Still said the car was accelerating at near maximum speed when it struck the other vehicles and there was no evidence of braking.
He told jurors there have been many cases of drivers confusing the pedals.
‘The driver may put their foot on the accelerator assuming it is the brake,’ he said.
‘The car will start moving but because the driver believes they put their foot on the brake they will push harder trying to make it stop and you will get rapid acceleration when the driver thinks they’re putting the foot on the brake.’
Mr Still said damage was found to the front right of Demissie’s car, including dents near the headlight and a torn tyre, but nothing that could have caused unintended movement.
‘I concluded that the accelerator was pressed,’ he said.
‘The vehicle could not be made to move without input from the driver. The brakes could bring the vehicle to a stop if acceleration had been started.’
Demissie, from Southwark, continues to deny both charges. The trial is ongoing.
