Man jailed for failing to stop at the scene of a collision

A 60-year-old man from Epsom has been sentenced to four months in prison and a six-month driving ban for failing to stop at the scene of a collision.

In the early hours of Sunday, 21 May 2023, Farid Cheheb (DOB 10/12/1963) was driving through Epsom in his role as a taxi driver when he struck a pedestrian on South Street.

The pedestrian, 44-year-old Shane Scannell, was left with a series of injuries including a traumatic head injury and later died in hospital.

Cheheb did not stop at the scene, and later claimed that he thought he had hit a fox.

Having carried out a reconstruction and using all the evidential material gathered, including damage to Cheheb’s car consistent with a collision, a Forensic Collision Investigator was able to determine that Cheheb should have known he had hit a person and not a fox, and that Mr Scannell should have been clearly visible from more than 10 metres away.

Cheheb, from Epsom, was sentenced at Staines Magistrates Court on Thursday, 2 May to an immediate prison sentence of four months, and a driving ban for six months to run alongside this.

Detective Inspector Ben Grilli said, “This was a challenging investigation where there were no witnesses to the actual collision and the vehicle did not stop at the scene.

“It is a testament to the effort put into this investigation that the vehicle was located and a person prosecuted.

“Although the CPS were not satisfied that we could suitably evidence the manner of driving that led to the collision, it is a sign of the amount of evidence secured that the driver received a custodial sentence for a minor summary offence.

“We know that the sentence will provide little comfort to the family, but we hope the sentence will provide an element of closure.”

In June last year the family of Shane Scannell paid tribute to a “son, brother, and uncle, who was loved by so many.”

Pictured above: Shane Scannell