Uber driver ran over man who vomited, court told

An Uber driver accused of murdering a passenger who had vomited in his car accelerated towards the victim at "incredible speed" before dragging him underneath the vehicle, a court heard.

Michael Ashton, 28, died from his injuries eight days after the incident in Rosecroft Close, Langdon Hills, Essex, on the night of 26 September 2025.

Taxi driver Hayadulla Turkmani, 53, of Langdale Gardens in Hornchurch, east London, denies murder.

A neighbour told Basildon Crown Court he witnessed Turkmani at the wheel.

Watching from his bedroom window, Ray Green said he saw "two individuals shouting at each other" before he then saw "the taxi driver accelerate at an incredible speed" towards Ashton, who was standing "four or five metres" from the car.

Green told the court he then saw the defendant drive over Ashton before stopping, reversing a short distance, then driving forward again.

"I could hear what sounded like him [Ashton] being dragged along the floor," he said.

"At that stage, I closed my curtains, and I said to myself 'what have I just witnessed?'"

He said he went downstairs before going outside to help.

Ashton's partner Sophie Caroll gave evidence, describing Turkmani as "calm" and as showing "no emotion" following the incident.

Caroll told the court about the events in the hours beforehand, where she and Ashton, who worked for the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council, had been out for dinner then drinks in Upminster and Hornchurch, east London, before ordering an Uber back to the home they shared in Rosecroft Close.

She became emotional when she recounted how Ashton was sick down himself in the back of the car just before they arrived home.

"I remember the driver turning round and being angry," she said, describing how she had fetched some baby wipes to clear the mess when they reached her home.

Ashton and Turkmani "were arguing behind me and it got really heated", she recalled.

"The driver was being really aggressive and angry, but it seemed to calm down as we were walking away, me and Michael," she said.

But she recounted how the defendant shouted something else which "provoked" Ashton and led to him turning round.

When she walked back to where they had been dropped off, she said she could not see her partner - before realising he was under the car.

"I was hysterical, screaming, I called the ambulance straight away," she recalled.

Turkmani's defence barrister Tom Wainwright questioned both witnesses' recollection of events.

He reminded Green that at the scene, he had initially told police the driver had not realised the victim was under his car.

The trial continues.

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