Car thief smashed into care home and broke resident's back in police chase
A 21-year-old who crashed a stolen car into a care home while being chased by police has admitting causing serious injury.
Two elderly residents at Highcliffe Care Home, Witherwack, Sunderland, died following the crash in July. Today, Sam Asgari-Tabar, of no fixed address, appeared before Newcastle Crown Court where he admitted robbery, relating to stealing a BMW 3-series, and causing serious injury by dangerous driving to a resident who suffered spinal fractures.
He denied a charge of kidnapping a woman who was in the BMW which he was test driving. The Crown Prosecution Service asked the court for more time to consider whether those pleas were acceptable.
Co-accused Ryan Parish, 21, from Sunderland, did not enter pleas to charges of robbery and kidnap, also relating to the BMW and the test drive.
Northumbria Police was alerted to reports of a stolen car in Fenham, Newcastle, on the evening of July 10 and a suspect vehicle was spotted in the Sunderland area 15 minutes later.
A pursuit then followed which ended with the BMW crashing into the care home, causing extensive structural damage to the building. Initially, Northumbria Police said eight residents required hospital treatment.
Two days later, the force said a woman in her 90s and a woman in her 80s, neither of whom were in the eight taken to hospital, had died and police inquiries were ongoing.
The pair will appear again before Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday, August 19 and Judge Carolyn Scott told Parish he must enter pleas on that occasion.
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