Driver left with life-changing injuries after 'vicious machete attack' in Darlaston street
A jury has been told how a driver suffered skull fractures in a vicious machete attack in a Darlaston street that left him fighting for his life.
Danyel Nadeem, Rees MacDonald and Zuhayb Abdi are standing trial accused of attempting to kill the victim who had been travelling in a car along with a female passenger when it was rammed by another vehicle near the junction of Richards Street and Victoria Road in Darlaston, Walsall, at about 8pm on November 21 last year.
The jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that the 33-year-old was left with skull fractures, a brain bleed, cuts and slash wounds during the attack near Darlaston Swimming and Fitness Centre after he was allegedly cornered by a group of men arriving in separate vehicles.
Mr Matthew Brook KC, prosecuting, said: "At around 8pm on November 21, 2023 a man called Inderjit Singh Dulay drove to Asda in Darlaston to use the cashpoint.
"In the car was his girlfriend Maya Bellingham. What neither of them knew was that when they left the car park in their car, that within 10 minutes he would be viciously attacked by three masked men wielding machetes and a hammer.
"Those three masked men at the start of the the attack had got out of a stolen Peugeot which had been used to ram Dr Dulay's car as it drove up Richards Street. They then attacked Mr Dulay intending to kill him. They used weapons to attack him which it appears the attackers must have already have had with them when they first saw Mr Dulay in the Asda car park.
"In the attack he suffered extremely serious injuries, but luckily he did not die.
"As you expect the police gathered a lot of CCTV from round the Darlaston area to see what it showed before, during and after the attack.
"He was treated in intensive care in hospital for a significant period of time. He required multiple surgeries including on his skull to relieve pressure on his brain.
"There will be no dispute that he suffered really serious injuries as a result of the attack on him. They were life altering injuries," Mr Brook said.
He told the jury that Miss Bellingham reported that while the attack was going on she saw a silver car drive past and that the driver, whom the jury was told was Nadeem, appeared to be laughing.
He said the area where it happened was not covered by the footage, but other people in the vicinity who captured the end of the incident on mobile telephones.
"The prosecution do not allege that the three men in the dock were the three men in the Peugeot who attacked Mr Dulay. There had been several cars which it appears had been in the Darlaston area that night on the prowl looking for Mr Dulay. Nadeem was driving his Corsa, Mr MacDonald was driving a stolen Mercedes with the third defendant Mr Abdi as his passenger. The prosecution allege that all three were party to this plan, this joint enterprise to find Mr Dulay so he could be attacked," he added.
On Tuesday the jury was shown West Midlands Police compilation footage of the incident.
Macdonald, 29, of Shepherds Fold, Brewood; Nadeem, 21, of Bright Street, Darlaston; and Abdi, 28, of Linwood Road, Handsworth, all deny attempted murder and wounding with intent. The trial continues.