Woman who fatally ran over 10-year-old girl and tried to flee to Saudi Arabia sentenced to 20 months in jail
A woman has been sentenced to 20 months in jail for the death of a 10-year-old girl after she ran over the child and then tried to flee to Saudi Arabia with her family. The child, named Marianne Haboc, was killed in a car accident caused by 33-year-old Sobia Aftar because of careless driving. The family of the victim also had to allegedly live in fear after being threatened by Aftar's family, reported Manchester Evening News.
"He offered to give me money for the funeral," William Haboc, the father said, "It didn't feel genuine, it felt like an effort to bribe me." However, after he didn't accept the money, he told the court that "a group of males came and started knocking on the door" and that it "was intimidating and stopped us grieving." He also said that "large groups of males" have scared them whenever they have tried to grieve for Marianne. The police also said that they had to put the family under the protection of the fire service.
"At this time I was taking sleeping medication. Due to the threats, I have stopped taking my tablets so I can wake up if I have to. Our grieving process has been interrupted because of the family and friends of Sobia Aftar," Haboc said.
The prosecutor said that the police had said that Aftar was "was not the driving force behind any of the incidents" but have agreed that it is what happened.
The woman and her husband Aftar Hussain, known as Raj, along with their four kids were caught at Manchester Airport in January with 10 suitcases ready to leave. The driving incident, that took place on October 1, 2018, had occurred while Marianne Haboc was walking home from St Patrick's RC Primary School on Taylor Street in the afternoon. At the time, Aftar herself had her daughter in the car. She was on her way to buy a birthday card for a birthday.
"Marianne was due to start secondary school in the next school year," Mark Rhind, the prosecutor said. "And at that time, children were being encouraged to begin to walk home by themselves rather than have parents pick them up, in order that they gain confidence."
Haboc had been waiting for her right around the corner at Whitworth Street. "She did not look and certainly did not see Marianne and her friends," Rhind told the court. She went "forward" instead and struck the child, causing injuries that proved to be fatal.
Aftar told the court that she had accidentally accelerated her red Range Rover instead of braking it and that she did not see the child. Aftra's lawyer said, "As a mother, she cannot imagine how awful it must be for the mother of Marianne. She is devastated by what took place, she genuinely is. This case is something that will haunt her forever. She could not be more sorry for it."