Inquest set for father hit by taxi

Inquest set for father hit by taxi
By Clare Kennedy


AN INQUEST will begin today into a man's death that was investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

The IPCC was called in because Ali Farah Bullaleh had spoken with two police officers and paramedics shortly before he died.

Mr Bullaleh, a Somali national living in Southampton, died when he collapsed in Bevois Valley Road and was struck by a taxi during the early hours of November 12, 2006.

It has emerged that the 41-year-old contacted the police and ambulance service shortly before his death when he was involved in an assault.

He had been asked to leave The Dungeon nightclub in Bevois Valley despite not seeming to cause any trouble.

It is also known that shortly afterwards, at about 2.45am, he was punched three times in the face and back outside The Dungeon.

He dialled 999 on his mobile phone and two police officers in a patrol car and an ambulance crew arrived and spoke to him.

However it is not believed any medical treatment was administered and both police and paramedics left the scene.

It was after the emergency crews had gone that Mr Bullaleh was filmed on CCTV talking to two men in Bevois Valley Road.

The footage showed the father-of-one speaking to the two men for about 15 minutes.

Shortly afterwards another CCTV camera caught Mr Bullaleh collapsing in Bevois Valley Road as he tried to cross the street.

Two cars were seen swerving to avoid his body before he was struck by a taxi at 3.45am.

Less than an hour later, at 4.31am, Mr Bullaleh was pronounced dead at Southampton General Hospital.

The Crown Prosecution Service did not bring any charges against the taxi driver.

However, last May, Stephen Bodley, 41, who then gave his address as Tedder Way, Totton, admitted one charge of common assault against Mr Bullaleh.

Southampton magistrates imposed a 12-week curfew after he admitted punching Mr Bullaleh three times in the face and on the back of the head outside The Dungeon nightclub. In a police interview he said that he knew Mr Bullaleh had been banned from The Hobbit where he worked and said he did not particularly like him.

Bodley added that under the influence of drink he "saw red", and had he been sober nothing would have happened.

Also in May last year IPCC investigators released CCTV stills of the two men seen talking to Mr Bullaleh who they believed were not involved in his death but could hold vital information about what happened.

The inquest at Southampton Coroner's Court is expected to last until Friday.

Traces of drugs in taxi accident victim


A MAN who died after being hit by a taxi was twice the drink drive limit and had traces of an amphetamine in his blood, an inquest was told.

Ali Farah Bullaleh, of Portswood Road, Southampton, was caught on CCTV camera collapsing in Bevois Valley Road and being hit by a taxi.

He had previously left The Dungeon nightclub in Bevois Valley and had been involved in a fight. He called 999 but later refused medical help when an ambulance arrived.

A post-mortem found Mr Bullaleh had 185 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood and had been taking khat - a stimulant commonly chewed as a leaf.

Pathologist Hugh White said a variety of factors had contributed to the 41-year-old's collapse in November 2006.

He said: "He had been taking khat but it was no longer effective. You have a combination of alcohol and drugs and he had been stressed so he had been pumping adrenaline and this is at nearly 4am so he was probably getting very tired."

His injuries included fractured ribs and other internal injuries. Dr White added: "He would have died extremely rapidly at the scene."

The inquest into Mr Bullaleh's death comes after a lengthy investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Proceeding.