"I didn't see his face but I'll never forget his eyes"
A driving instructor from Birmingham had her car windscreen smashed with a brick in what was allegedly a racist attack.
Sobia Hussain had picked up a 19-year-old learner for a lesson on the afternoon of June 14, 2021, in Acocks Green when a motorcyclist is said to have pulled up alongside her car and shouted racist abuse.
He then allegedly dismounted his bike in traffic and smashed her car windscreen with a brick.
Sobia, of Tyseley, said: “I was driving along the Fox Hollies Road and the motorcyclist caught up to us on the passenger side.
“Due to Covid, we have to have the windows open and I could see him looking at me, but I didn’t think much of it at first.
“Then I heard him say something but he had his helmet on so I didn’t hear.
“I thought maybe he was telling me I had a light out or something so I slowed down and said ‘is everything okay?’
“He started saying I didn’t check my mirrors when I pulled out and started swearing.
“He was calling me a [racial slur] and said I shouldn’t be on the road and should go back to where I came from.
“I did get quite angry with him and told him to f*** off and I carried on driving.
“I put the passenger window up because I didn’t want to put the learner at risk and I could see he was still behind us.”
Shortly after, Sobia says she stopped in traffic and says the rider passed her and parked his bike in the road, blocking the car in front.
She told Birmingham Mail:
“He got off and came towards my window on the driver’s side.
“I didn’t close it because I didn’t want him to see I was intimidated. He was saying the same [racial slurs] again.
“I finally said ‘I’m not having this, I’m calling the police’, and that’s when he bent down to pick up a brick.
“I quickly put the window up. He kind of stood there for a minute and then he kicked the car and started smashing the windscreen with the brick. He looked crazy.
“He had his helmet on so I didn’t see his face but I’ll never forget his eyes – he was so full of hatred.
“The windscreen was caving in, there was glass splashing down onto the learner who was crying.
“I was on the phone to the police and at the same time trying to calm her down. It was terrifying.”
Members of the public confronted the motorcyclist and he got back on his bike and drove away.
Sobia said: “People came over to see if we were okay but I was in complete shock.
“One of the shop owners told us to wait inside for the police.
“The support we got from everyone in the street who saw what happened was really beautiful – if it wasn’t for them, I don’t know what would have happened.”
Watch the Aftermath of the Shocking Incident
Following the incident, Sobia is scared to return to work.
Her car now needs to have its windscreen completely replaced.
The driving instructor said:
“Even now, for me to go out, it’s scary. I haven’t been out since it happened.”
“I’m not ready to get back to work. It’s really shook me up.”
West Midlands Police are trying to identify the biker and has urged the man to “do the right thing” and hand himself in.
Neighbourhood Police Sergeant Craig Woolaway said: “This is a truly shocking incident.
“We believe the motorbike rider has felt aggrieved by something and responded by pulling up alongside the victim’s car, racially abusing her through the window before picking up a brick and using it to smash the windscreen.
“Thankfully, neither the driving instructor nor the student were physically injured but they were understandably shaken up by the incident.
“Officers are planning to see the victim today to take a statement.
“We are following up lines of enquiry to identify the biker – and I would encourage him to do the right thing and come and speak to us.”
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