Teenage driver admits petrol station hit-and-run

A Google streetview image of an Esso petrol station in Normanton, Wakefield.Image source, Google
Image caption,

Petrol station worker Srisankar Subramanian was left seriously brain damaged following the collision

  • Published

A teenage driver who left a petrol station worker with life-threatening injuries in a hit-and-run crash has pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Taghan Bal, 18, drove into Srisankar Subramanian as he sped away from an Esso garage in Normanton, West Yorkshire, in October, after filling up the car he was driving with fuel and leaving without paying.

At a hearing at Leeds Crown Court, Bal, of Wyatts Green, near Brentwood, in Essex, admitted injuring Mr Subramanian and also pleaded guilty to making off without payment and displaying a false number plate.

He was released on bail ahead of sentencing at the same court on 19 June.

Bal was one of two men who drove to the petrol station in the early hours of 20 October.

As both drivers attempted to leave without paying Mr Subramanian ran out brandishing a broom to try and stop them, but Bal drove into him before speeding off.

At a previous hearing, the court heard Mr Subramanian had been left seriously brain damaged as a result of the injuries he suffered.

The other man, Aderoju Adeniran, 31, pleaded guilty to stealing fuel and displaying a false number plate in January and was jailed for four months.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Get in touch

Tell us which stories we should cover in Yorkshire