Nayer Youakim was double the alcohol limit when he drove onto the wrong side of the road in North Shields and crashed into a taxi, leaving the driver seriously injured
(Image: chronicle live)
A doctor training to be a consultant left a taxi driver with severe injuries after causing a head-on collision while under the influence of alcohol.
Nayer Youakim was found to have twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he veered onto the wrong side of Beach Road in North Shields, North Tyneside, colliding with a taxi shortly before midnight on November 24, 2024.
When questioned by police about whether he had been drinking prior to the accident, Youakim responded: “Not too much, two pints.”
However, roadside and custody tests revealed that Youakim, who carries out surgical procedures, had 72 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath, more than double the legal limit of 35 micrograms, according to Chronicle Live.
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Prosecutor Lucy Todd explained that the taxi driver had just dropped off a passenger and was heading home when the incident occurred. She said: “He became dazed by headlights coming towards him before being crashed into.”
The court heard how the taxi was sent spinning to the opposite side of the road, while Youakim’s vehicle ended up on the pavement.
Miss Todd continued: “Officers attended and spoke to the driver of the vehicle, the defendant, he appeared dazed and under the influence, stating he was heading to the Coast Road when the other vehicle came into his path.”
The prosecutor added that the taxi driver was hospitalised with a fractured shoulder and arm, a swollen hip, and suspected broken ribs. In a victim impact statement, the driver expressed his anger over the incident and acknowledged the lengthy recovery process ahead, but added: “I feel very lucky to be alive.”
Youakim, 37, from Lady Byron Lane, Solihull, West Midlands, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drink-driving.
Recorder Mark McKone KC addressed him: “You are an ear, nose and throat registrar, a doctor performing surgery in three hospitals, you have done a lot of good for many people. You are training to be a consultant. Your status as a doctor is uncertain and your training as a consultant would end if you were sent to prison.
“I accept you are more likely to be suspended or struck off by the GMC if you were sent to immediate custody. I am sure you will learn from being arrested and coming to court and not offend again.
“You have got very strong personal mitigation, a lack of previous convictions and important work as a doctor. Custody would have a harmful impact on others, you are not married and you have no children but custody could have a major impact upon future patients.”
Youakim, who practises in Carlisle whilst also working at Whitehaven and Penrith, received an 18-month sentence suspended for two years, alongside 250 hours of unpaid work, £150 in costs and a two-year driving ban with an extended driving test requirement.
Laura Miller, representing him, described it as an “extraordinary lapse of judgement”, stating: “At the time he didn’t deem himself to be on the wrong side of the carriageway, of course that is incorrect, we know that is incorrect but in the moment he wasn’t trying to deliberately mislead anyone as to what happened.”
Miss Miller stated Youakim experiences sincere regret and compassion, and has pursued assistance to comprehend what led him to consume alcohol before getting behind the wheel that evening. She continued: “It was an isolated incident very much out of character for him.”
