THE brother-in-law of former First Minister Humza Yousaf crashed into a cyclist and threw him over the bonnet while driving an uninsured car.
Ramsay El-Nakla was doing the school run when he failed to stop at a red light and sent bike rider James Clunie, 59, flying through the air.
He was doing the school run when he hit the cyclist[/caption]
El-Nakla was driving an uninsured car when he went through a red light[/caption]
El-Nakla – who receives £1,400 per month on benefits – claimed he had lost his mobile phone on holiday and had not been warned his insurance policy had been cancelled.
Humza Yousaf was forced to apologise when he was Transport Minister in 2016 after being caught driving a friend’s car without a valid insurance policy.
At Dundee‘s Justice of the Peace Court El-Nakla, 37, Baxter Park Terrace, Dundee, admitted driving carelessly on the city‘s Arbroath Road on 12 June last year.
He admitted failing to slow approaching a red light, failing to keep a proper lookout, and colliding with a stationary bicycle causing Mr Clunie to fall off to his injury.
He also admitted having no insurance, but the Crown dropped a further charge of having no MoT certificate.
Fiscal depute Ewan Chalmers told the court: “The traffic lights were red so the complainer stopped. The accused failed to notice the complainer stopped at the junction.
“He has gone into the rear of the complainer’s pushbike, which caused the complainer to be thrown off the bike, landing on the bonnet of the car, before falling to the ground.
“The complainer sustained a small cut to a finger on his right hand and minor pain in his back.
“The accused remained at the scene for 20 minutes to assist and passed on his details. Police checks were carried out on the accused’s vehicle and showed it had no insurance.”
Solicitor Annika Jethwa, defending, said: “In relation to having no insurance, he had gone to Ireland to visit family and had broken his phone, and did not receive messages about the direct debit failing.
“He had had difficulties during the year and it was the policy of the company to cancel if there was a third payment failure. He has been driving since he was 19 and has never had insurance issues.”
She said: “He was driving along and there was a van in front of him. He was of the view the van was going to continue driving, but it braked quite suddenly in front of him.
“The bicycle has come along the inside. He has gone to turn down his radio and hadn’t noticed the bike coming up beside him. The bicycle had stopped between where the van stopped and where he stopped.
“He didn’t brake in time and he struck the bike. Fortunately, he was driving extremely slowly at the time because he was coming up to traffic lights and the injury was of a minor nature.
“He waited and gave help in whatever way he could. He had been on a school run at the time. Because he had no insurance there is a civil claim against him which will be resolved elsewhere.”
She said father-of-three El-Nakla needed his driving licence to help with the family and was getting £1,400 per month on universal credit and disability payments.
“He has a record, but it is not the worst. This was the combination of a few factors at the time. There would be hardship caused to the family if he was disqualified.”
Justice of the Peace William Morrison fined El-Nakla £450 and ordered him to pay at £40 per month, as well as imposing six penalty points on his driving licence.
He said: “It is an unfortunate incident but it is indicative of a period of inattention, a momentary lapse, and I accept that. Nevertheless, there was injury – albeit minor – and the cyclist ought to have been protected.”
El-Nakla is the brother in law of former First Minister Humza Yousaf[/caption]
