A November afternoon near London Bridge Station shattered for two families when a five-year-old boy, Fareed Amir, was struck by a car. The vehicle, a Volkswagen ID.4, surged forward with devastating force, leaving Fareed with injuries that would prove fatal.
Ashenafei Demissie, the 53-year-old driver, is now on trial, accused of causing Fareed’s death and seriously injuring his own twelve-year-old son. The scene unfolded outside a block of flats, where both boys had been playing, before the car unexpectedly accelerated, colliding with five parked vehicles after impact.
Demissie, a cab driver, recounted to police returning home after picking up his younger son from school. He described a scene of innocent interaction – Fareed, his mother, and his own elder son gathered around his car as he offered sweets. A simple gesture, moments before unimaginable tragedy.
Initially, Demissie suggested a mechanical fault, claiming the car “jumped” and that Fareed may have triggered a sensor. He spoke of a “moment of madness,” a desperate attempt to brake that came too late, a terrifying “whoosh and jump.” His wife, he said, instinctively moved to help their son before he directed her towards Fareed.
The courtroom heard heartbreaking testimony as Demissie, overcome with emotion, recalled feeling “happy” before the incident. He remembered Fareed’s excitement, the child affectionately calling him “Uncle Ash.” His defense maintains he did not intentionally accelerate, that the car moved independently.
However, a Met Police traffic collision investigator presented a starkly different picture. Mark Still, after a thorough examination of the vehicle in December 2022, found no evidence of any mechanical defect. He stated unequivocally that he could not make the car accelerate without direct driver input.
Still detailed his inability to replicate any fault that could have caused the car to move on its own, confirming the steering, brakes, and acceleration all functioned correctly. He described a phenomenon observed in previous collisions – drivers mistakenly pressing the accelerator instead of the brake.
This “pedal misapplication,” as Still termed it, often leads to a dangerous escalation. The driver, believing they are braking, presses harder, accelerating further and losing control. His investigation concluded that this was precisely what occurred, the alleged fault simply unprovable.
While acknowledging he wasn’t a computer or software engineer, Still confirmed he considered the possibility of electrical or mechanical failure. His meticulous examination yielded no supporting evidence. The trial continues, leaving a community grappling with the devastating loss of a young life and the search for answers.
The image of Demissie covering his son’s eyes to shield him from the aftermath remains particularly poignant. The boy’s anguished cries – “Daddy hurts, daddy hurts, broken, daddy hurts” – echo the profound pain felt by both families and the weight of the tragedy that unfolded on that November day.
