Police said 16-year-old Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Taleb was “simply in the wrong place at the wrong time” when Zulkernain Ahmed, 21, hit him
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A driver who mowed down an “entirely innocent boy” as he walked along a pavement has been found guilty of murder.
Police said 16-year-old Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Taleb was “simply in the wrong place at the wrong time” when Zulkernain Ahmed, 21, hit him, throwing him into the air, as he drove down the wrong side of a busy Sheffield street to target a group of e-bike and moped riders.
Jurors were shown graphic video footage of how Ahmed’s Audi S3 drove at the riders, knocking one over a hedge.
It then showed how the vehicle ploughed into the teenager, also known as Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Al-Yazidi, who was seen throwing and catching a water bottle as he walked along the pavement moments before the collision.
Ahmed’s brother Armaan Ahmed, 27, who was a backseat passenger in the Audi, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter by the jury of nine women and three men, after three days of deliberating.
The jury at Sheffield Crown Court heard how Zulkernain Ahmed was out looking for one of the riders, La’rome Divers, on June 4 following a dispute over e-bikes, and had taken a baseball bat with him.
Speaking outside Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, Detective Chief Inspector Ben Wood, of South Yorkshire Police, said: “Abdullah was an entirely innocent boy who tragically lost his life after being struck by a car on Staniforth Road in June last year.
“He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“The utterly unacceptable actions of the man responsible has left Abdullah’s family facing the devastating reality that they will never see their son again.
“Their loss is immeasurable and no verdict can ever undo the pain they continue to endure.”
Mr Wood said: “I hope that today’s outcome provides Abdullah’s family and loved ones with some measure of comfort, knowing that justice has been served and Abdullah’s killer now faces a significant sentence.”
The detective read a statement from Abdullah’s family which said: “Our son Abdullah was just 16 years old, an innocent boy who had recently arrived from Yemen, full of hope for a safe, peaceful and productive life in England, when he was taken from us as a result of an ongoing feud that was nothing to do with him.
“We are devastated by our loss but our faith gives us strength and we welcome the guilty verdict.”
Abdullah’s death shocked the community in Darnall.
Shortly after the incident, relatives and friends of the teenager said he was devoted to his family and would “light up their faces with a big smile”.
He arrived in the UK from Yemen two or three months before the tragedy and had devoted himself to learning English ahead of starting at college in September, his relatives said.
One family member said Abdullah had been in his shop on Staniforth Road just before the crash.
He said he had attended a hospital appointment earlier in the afternoon and popped into the store, as he often did, before heading off to get some food.
Saleh Alsirkal said: “His dad brought him over to change his life, to get a better future for his son, but this has happened and destroyed everything.”
Abdullah’s friend Oasmah Thabet said after his death: “To the people who would come around and just say hello to him, he would light up their faces with a big smile.”
Mr Thabet said: “For something to happen like this and for your dreams to be cut so short, it’s a tragic loss for the family and it’s a just a shock that can’t be described.”
Adjourning the case for sentencing on June 4, the judge, Mrs Justice Tipples, said it was “a terrible case” which had “caused untold devastation” to Abdullah’s family.
Zulkernain Ahmed, of Locke Drive, Darnall, was also found guilty of causing Mr Divers grievous bodily harm with intent and attempting to cause the other two riders – who have never been identified – grievous bodily harm with intent.
Armaan Ahmed, of the same address, was also found guilty of causing Mr Divers grievous bodily harm.
The court heard how Mr Divers refused to make a statement to police.
Another back-seat passenger, 30-year-old Adam Mohammed, was cleared of both murder and manslaughter plus a number of other charges on Friday and was told he could walk free.
Mr Mohammed told police: “My sole purpose for getting in the vehicle was to smoke a spliff and then to go play snooker.”
All the defendants were cleared of attempting to murder the three riders.
A third Ahmed brother, Zain, was the front seat passenger of the Audi but has not been traced by police.