A Derby taxi driver and his family have been left devastated after a hit-and-run driver careered into their home and left their living room in ruins. Muhammad Khan says the last four weeks have left him “mentally finished” after a blue hatchback car careered into his property and damaged his taxi, leaving him with a bill for £12,000.
Rubble and debris were piled on the floor in the front room, with the wall bent in at an angle. The brickwork around the window is cracked.
Mr Khan’s car, a Toyota he uses for his job as a taxi driver with PJ Cars, was dented on both the left side, where the car had hit it, and on the right, where it had been forced into the lamppost outside the house on the street. The electricity meter box was also destroyed, as was their council-provided black bin. It was just the start of a nightmarish six weeks for the family.
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The nightmare started when Mr Khan and his family were awoken at 3am on the night of March 12 to a “very powerful bang” which Mr Khan said made the whole house shake. His sons, sleeping in the room upstairs, looked out of the window to see a blue car speeding off but could not catch the registration due to the lack of light.
The police arrived in a matter of minutes after being called and spoke to neighbours, all of whom had been woken due to the commotion, and other witnesses, including some in a car that had been stationary when the offending vehicle sped past.
Derbyshire police continue to investigate but a lack of evidence is hampering their efforts, leaving Mr Kahn frustrated. To make matters worse, a mistake on his car insurance form meant he had to fork out £9,000 to repair his vehicle himself as well as an extra £3,000 to cover the insurance excess on his home.
Mr Kahn said: “I am mentally totally finished. The house is very cold inside. Every time I ring the police or the insurance or the council I’ve not got anywhere.”
A surveyor attended the property on March 16 and determined that, while the house was safe and still habitable, the residents should avoid the lounge completely. The company quoted him £9,300 for the job.
The investigating police officer advised that she could not investigate until March 18 due to shift patterns. In the meantime, Mr Khan attempted to obtain CCTV from local businesses and neighbours but was told for the most part that it could only be provided to the authorities.
On the video footage he did obtain, the car was travelling too fast for the registration to be picked up. When the police did complete their own CCTV enquiries, they also failed to find evidence strong enough to identify the vehicle or its driver.
And to rub salt into the wound, when Mr Khan claimed on his insurance policy, the company found that he had failed to declare a previously void policy from five years prior. Instead of upholding his claim, they cancelled his policy entirely.
It meant the 55-year-old could not work for six weeks, and he had to shell out the entire £9,000 cost of the repair himself. To make matters worse, the damage to the Toyota had been recorded as a fault of his own, and as a result he was then rejected by other insurers and quoted far more than he would’ve been otherwise for a new policy.
Mr Khan’s son Nazar said: “We thought someone might have done it on purpose. But then we realised we don’t have any problems with anyone around here. We were very angry. My dad’s been off work but we still have to pay bills.”
The family are still waiting for a replacement black bin, also destroyed in the crash, and have to use their neighbours’ to dispose of rubbish. Mr Khan has only just returned to work.
A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said: “Officers continue to make enquiries into the incident and are keen to hear from anyone who may be able to assist officers in their investigation.”
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