Drink driver who ploughed into five pedestrians in front of shocked onlookers in Edinburgh city centre is jailed

26.01.2022 - 15:47 / dailyrecord.co.uk

A drink driver who mowed down five pedestrians in Edinburgh’s city centre has been jailed for 20 months.

Mohamed Bouhnika was more than four times the legal alcohol limit when he ploughed into three women and two men.

The horrifying crashes where caught on CCTV with victims seen somersaulting into the air in Rose Street after being struck by the Ford Fiesta.

Bouhnika appeared from custody at the city’s sheriff court on Wednesday and was handed the prison term.

Sheriff Douglas Keir also disqualified the 37-year-old from driving for 47 months.

Bouhnika was caught by police after he hit other vehicles in nearby Lothian Road where one of his car tyres was ripped off.

Following the shocking incident, Police Scotland moved quickly to quell fears and confirmed it wasn’t terror-related.

At a hearing earlier this month, Bouhnika admitted charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drink driving.

During that hearing, fiscal depute Rosie Cook played a clip showing the pedestrian collisions in Rose Street at around 12.40am on September 12 last year.

The graphic video showed the impacts as helpless victims were struck before other people rushed to offer aid.

Ms Cook said Zoe Brown and James McBride had been walking on a pavement beside the junction between Rose Street and Frederick Street.

She said Bouhnika was driving a blue Fiesta which was travelling south on Frederick Street and turned into Rose Street “at speed”.

The prosecutor said the impact caused “them to be thrown into the air and landing on the pavement”.

She added: “The vehicle carried on travelling at speed.”

Ms Cook said police constables Keith Morrison and Cyprian Kromiszewski, who were on foot patrol in the area, had to “take avoiding action” to escape being