Heavily pregnant woman forced to give birth while in a coma after 21-year-old speeding driver smashed into her taxi

A university student has been jailed for 28

months after he left a heavily pregnant woman

in a coma when he undertook at 47mph in a

30mph zone and smashed into her taxi.

Wei Liu, 30, was still unconscious when her

baby was delivered in hospital after the crash

and she only learned she had a son when she

woke up three days later.

Manchester Crown Court heard Zain Iqbal, 21,

drove his VW Golf into her cab leaving her in a

critical condition, and her partner Geng Yu,

24, also seriously injured.

Iqbal was speeding on Great Ancoats Street in

Manchester when he attempted to undertake a

car that had slowed down to allow a taxi to

pull out, only to plough into the cab.

Ms Liu was taken to Manchester Royal

Infirmary in a critical condition and her son

Lucas was delivered after an emergency

caesarean a month early.

She was also left with a catalogue of

devastating injuries, including a severed artery

above her heart, fractured ribs which had

pierced her liver and a shattered pelvis along

with a fractured cheekbone, broken foot and a

gash on her head which needed 48 stitches.

The shop assistant for Hermes in Selfridges in

Manchester city centre also had to spend a

total of 40 days in hospital before finally being

allowed home. She is still in a wheelchair.

In Miss Liu's victim impact statement she said:

'I'm still having medical treatment and still

trying to recover from the injuries. I still have

treatment for my head injury. I get dizzy when

I try and sleep I need to take sleeping tablets.

I constantly have headaches and I still have a

bleed on the brain.

'I still have pain to my heart, it starts like

heartburn, I have to have a scan every year for

my heart injury. I am very emotional, at first I

thought it was my hormones with having my

son Lucas. There is still not a bond, there

seems to be no connection, like you can take

him away and no bond would be broken. It is

very upsetting. I have no memory of giving

birth. He is doing fine and is a healthy baby.

'I have a large scar on my scalp which needed

48 stitches and a 10- 12 cm scar on my

stomach. I have a scar on my left cheek which

I have to constantly cover up with make up.

Since the collision I haven't gone back to

work. It would not be possible as I am unable

to stand for too long and get tired very easily.

The crash has ruined my life and the start of

my family life.'

Her partner Geng needed surgery for a

punctured lung, broken ribs and also suffered

injuries to his feet. A pedestrian was also

injured in the accident after being crushed

between the taxi and a barrier.

Today Iqbal, who is studying for an

accountancy degree at Manchester

Metropolitan University, was jailed for 28

months and banned from driving for four years

at court.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to causing serious

injury by dangerous driving and also had to

pay a £120 victim surcharge.

At court prosecutor Brian Berlyne said a

witness spotted the VW Golf being driven at

speed behind him.

Mr Berlyne said: 'He described Mr Iqbal as

"blasting past him" and driving at excessive

speed. He described him as wobbling along all

over the place and looked unsteady.

'A short distance ahead travelling in the same

direction was Nicola Ferney who observed the

black cab travelling in the opposite direction.

'She heard a loud revving noise and saw that

Mr Iqbal had overtaken her on her nearside.

In her words it was quite fast and then the

driver was in collision with the rear near side

of the taxi, it started to spin around rapidly.

'Gary Booth was a pedestrian, the taxi collided

with him and trapped him against a set of steel

railings.'

He said Mr Booth suffered a fractured tibia,

fibula, femur and deep wound to his calf and

had to have a skin graft to his thigh. one

month after the accident he was still unable to

walk unaided. He had been a healthy fit young

man.

In his victim impact statement he said: 'Owing

to all the injuries I sustained I had to change

the type of vehicle I drive. I lost my job prior

to Christmas owing to the injuries as I was

unable to carry out the role. I had been a

skiing instructor in Switzerland and was hoping

to go back into this, it is very unlikely after

this.'

Simon Gurney, in mitigation for Iqbal said:

'The defendant is fortunate that it was not

more serious. He accepts full responsibility for

his conduct that night for his standard of

driving and accepts that it was dangerous. It is

accepted that it passes the custodial threshold.

'He is 21, of good character coupled with the

previously clean driving licence. He maintains

he had not seen the taxi. He was driving a

vehicle with too much power. He was driving

far too quickly and in a manner that was

inappropriate. The defendant doesn't seek to

blame any other party for what took place that

night.'

Passing sentence Recorder Neville Biddell said:

'You have caused a significant number of

people very, very serious injuries, but

arguably, the level of your dangerous driving

is not of the most dangerous level.

'At about 10:30pm you were driving your

friend home having been out for the evening.

'You clearly didn't have the experience to drive

it properly, it may have been that you were

showing off.

'Ahead of you was Miss Fernley she was able to

see the taxi coming towards her, you missed

all that and were concentrating on getting back

on the inside so you could basically undertake

Miss Fernley, whizzing past her.

'You were clearly driving dangerously and 50

mph was a dangerously excessive speed. You

were cutting in and out of traffic not allowing

yourself to see other traffic on the road. You

drove into the taxi, I have seen the video and

photos it is the consequences of what you did,

the causing of serious injury.

'Mrs Liu she was pregnant within one month of

delivery. She sustained extremely serious

injuries to her head, neck face and throat to

the extent that she was unconscious. that had

a devastating effect to her, she had to go to

MRI to have an emergency Caesarean.

Fortunately the baby was delivered. Her

husband was in the taxi as well and sustained

serious injuries and a friend sustained

bruising.'