A five-year-old boy was killed after an electric vehicle allegedly accelerated suddenly while parked outside a block of flats in south London, a court has heard.
The Old Bailey trial centres on Ashenafei Demisse, 52, who denies causing death and serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving. The incident, which occurred near London Bridge station in November 2022, also left his 12-year-old son seriously injured.
Prosecutors told the court that Demisse was sitting inside his parked Volkswagen electric vehicle when it rapidly surged forward, striking two children before crashing into five other parked cars. One of the children, Fareed Amir, had been walking home from primary school with his mother, Maryam Lemulu.
Lemulu had stopped briefly to speak with Demisse’s wife, Yodit Samuel, who was accompanied by her son, Raphael. Moments earlier, Demisse had offered Fareed a treat from inside the car, which his mother declined.
The court heard that Fareed suffered fatal injuries, including a fractured skull, and was pronounced dead at Guy’s Hospital. Raphael sustained multiple leg fractures and spent four weeks in hospital.
Lemulu told the court she did not hear any engine noise before the vehicle moved. “The car suddenly moved forward. It did not make any noise. It took off very fast,” she said.
Demisse’s defence argued that he did not press the accelerator and that the electric car moved without driver input. Prosecutors rejected this claim, citing a police investigation that found no mechanical fault and concluded the car could only have moved due to driver action, possibly as a result of pedal misapplication.
The trial is ongoing.
