A TEENAGER on trial over the death of a young Sheffield student knocked down by a car told a jury he was left ‘shocked and confused’ following the killing and denied ‘looking for trouble’ on the evening of the fatal collision.

Abdulla Awil Mohammed, aged 18, died on Coleridge Road in Darnall after being hit on the head by a road sign toppled over by a car driving towards him and his Somali friends.

The front seat passenger in the car – 19-year-old Bengali man Mohammed Kahar, of Swarcliffe Road, Darnall – is accused of Abdulla’s manslaughter.

The prosecution says the car was driven deliberately towards the group, following clashes between Bengali and Somali youths.

Kahar told Sheffield Crown Court his friend and fellow car passenger Nizamul Hoque told him there had been fights earlier that day.

Hoque, 19, of Willow Drive, Darnall, has admitted causing violent disorder.

Kahar also said the red Kia Picanto car was flagged down by a young boy who told them that Somalis were looking for their pal, Shahid Miah, 17.

The defendant told the jury the car was later driven to Coleridge Road, where he noticed a ‘group of lads’ waiting.

“I didn’t know who they were,” he said. “They were walking towards us and we were going towards them.”

Kahar said he felt his phone vibrate, and took it out of his pocket: “That’s when the car swerved on to the pavement.

“A second later the car collided.”

He added: “The only thing in my mind was getting an ambulance for this lad.”

When asked by his barrister, Stephen Kamlish QC, whether he was ‘looking for trouble’ before the incident in March, Kahar replied: “No.”

“I’m not a fighter,” said Kahar, who the jurors were told is currently suspended from his computing course at Leeds Metropolitan University.

“If I’d known anything like this would have happened, I would have stayed at home. I was shocked and confused and didn’t know what to do.”

Mr Kamlish told jurors the prosecution case was ‘disgraceful’, adding: “It’s just a random game they’re playing with someone’s life because a community is baying for someone’s blood.

“This isn’t him at all, he’s a good boy, a computer geek.”

The trial continues.

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The Star

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