A VIOLENT driver was jailed for six and a half years after a deliberate rampage leaving one man in a coma and two others injured, writes Alex de Moller. Abdiweli Gedi, 20, of Norbury Avenue, Surrey, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday for three coun

A VIOLENT driver was jailed for six and a half years after a deliberate rampage leaving one man in a coma and two others injured, writes Alex de Moller.

Abdiweli Gedi, 20, of Norbury Avenue, Surrey, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday for three counts of grievous bodily harm with intent and one for GBH and dangerous driving.

He hit three people with a Range Rover in Tubbs Road, Harlesden, at 4.15am on November 1 last year before returning to run over one of his victims.

"This was a violent attack on an innocent young man," said Detective Constable, Karen Beck of the Brent Violent Crime Unit.

"Gedi used his car as a lethal weapon."

Two others, Liban Hassan, 19 and Issa Omar Juni, 21, were sentenced to 12 months community service for affray.

Both pleaded guilty before the trial.

Det Con Beck expressed her thanks to the council CCTV operator and the Somali community, both of whom she said were invaluable to the investigation.

Two men, aged 29 and 30-years-old were hit as they stood outside The Lodge, a Somali Community Centre suffering minor injuries, but 26-year-old Jamal Ali, a semi-professional basketball player and small-business owner was taken to hospital, where he remained in a coma for two months.

Mr Ali said: "I still have no idea why the driver chose to run me over and continue driving.

"I suffered severe damage to my liver, which I will never recover from. Since the assault I have lost my business and my basketball career is over.

"I feel very angry that my life, as it was has been taken away from me.

"No one has apologised or acknowledged what they have done to me and my family.