Mohammed Hanan was driving home from a taxi shift at about 1am on 23 December 2022 when he turned into the road where he lived. Coventry Live reports that Shane Hurley, 41, was coming the other way at speed. Parked cars on both sides left no room to pass.
Hurley shouted at him to reverse. They argued for about five minutes, and Mr Hanan could not move the taxi. Hurley got out, leaned in and struck him. The two men struggled. Hurley then climbed into the taxi and bit Mr Hanan’s ear. It needed several stitches and later became infected.
What the driver told the court
Mr Hanan said he could not take taxi work in December and January and lost about £3,000. He was the only person in the household in work. He said the ear is permanently disfigured, that he finds it hard to sleep on that side, and that he feels uneasy about driving the taxi.
The report does not name the street, the firm, or which council licensed him.
The sentence
Hurley pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Hanan. Judge Kristina Montgomery called the attack wholly unacceptable.
Mark Karpinski, mitigating, said Hurley had served in the British Army, had been diagnosed with PTSD, and deeply regretted what he did. The court heard he had been spared jail on 14 October 2022 for assaulting an emergency worker.
He was given a 20-month suspended prison sentence at Warwick Crown Court and ordered to pay Mr Hanan £3,000 in compensation. The report does not say how long the sentence was suspended, or the date of the hearing.