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Driver caused £1m supercar damage in high-speed Chelsea crash

Ahmed Al Husseini, was chasing after a car he believed had damaged his vehicle when the SUV spun out of control (ITV news)
Ahmed Al Husseini, was chasing after a car he believed had damaged his vehicle when the SUV spun out of control (ITV news)

An Audi driver caused up to £1 million of damage when his vehicle took off and smashed into a row of supercars in a high-speed pursuit through Chelsea, a court heard.

Ahmed Al Husseini, 25, was chasing after a car he believed had damaged his vehicle when the SUV spun out of control and smashed into parked Mercedes McLaren MP4.

Delivery driver Al Husseini’s car then struck a Porsche Cayenne which was shunned into a Bentley Bentayga, while damage was also caused to another Audi and a Porsche, as well as a Vauxhall Corsa, a Mitsubishi Outlander, and a Land Rover.

Prosecutor Brian Reece said Al Husseini reached speeds of between 81mph and 92mph as he “raced” through the leafy streets close to Sloane Square, where the limit is just 30mph.

“It was sufficient to cause the Audi entering the junction to become airborne, at which point the defendant as driver would have no control over it”, he told Isleworth crown court.

Al Husseini’s car was flipped over during the destruction in Moore Street, Chelsea, on August 5 last year, and he was taken to hospital for treatment. His passenger is believed to have escaped serious injury.

He later explained to police a Mercedes McLaren had damaged his car that evening, and later on, believing he had spotted the culprit, he gave chase.

“It would appear he was in fact in pursuit of a vehicle that does look a bit like a Mercedes McLaren”, said Mr Reece.

Still bearing a scar on his forehead from the crash and using crutches, Al Husseini was today handed a ten-month prison sentence, suspended for the next 18 months.

“You were speeding massively in order to catch up with someone you thought was responsible for an earlier collision”, said Judge Sarah Paneth.

“It’s frankly a miracle no one was seriously hurt other than you. Fortunately you weren’t as injured as people might have been, which is maybe a credit to the Audi engineers.”

The court was shown footage of the incident, including CCTV of Al Husseini’s car speeding along the empty streets and through a junction. The moment of the collision was also caught on camera.

The court heard Al Husseini, who had a clean licence and no previous convictions, was driving a car belonging to his father’s partner at the time of the crash.

The relationship broke down as a result of this incident, while Al Husseini now has a strained relationship with his father. He no longer wants to drive and has flashbacks to the crash, the court heard.

Judge Paneth ordered him to complete 20 hours of rehab as part of his sentence and observe an 8pm to 8am electronically tagged curfew for the next four months.

Al Husseini, from Maida Vale, admitted dangerous driving. He was given a two-year ban from driving.

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