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Hijab shop crash driver denied bail

Sabry Nassar's station wagon crashed into a hijab store in Sydney's western suburbs.

Sabry Nassar's station wagon crashed into a hijab store in Sydney's western suburbs. Photo: AAP

The man who crashed into a western Sydney hijab shop will remain behind bars after facing court on Saturday on a string of driving offences.

Sabry Moustafa Nassar, 51, applied for bail when he appeared in Parramatta Bail Court but was successfully opposed by police prosecutors because of the risk to the community and fears of a repeat incident.

The court heard the crash was similar to an incident at Lakemba earlier in the year for which he has also been charged.

Magistrate Holly Kemp said there were elements of “predatory or deliberate behaviour” in that offence which occurred in January.

“The material before me concerns, in my view, two similar incidents over a short period of time and represents a serious example in this alleged offence,” Magistrate Kemp said.

She added no bail conditions would mitigate her fear for the community or concerns Mr Nassar could reoffend.

Nassar’s lawyer Mostafa Daoudie told the court his client was unconscious during the Greenacre incident and denied he deliberately drove into the store.

Nassar is facing a maximum possible jail term of two years and Mr Daoudie said that due to court delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, time in custody would be likely to outweigh any sentence.

Nassar was re-arrested on Friday and charged with a number of offences relating to Thursday’s crash which injured 14 people.

He has been charged with driving furiously in a motor vehicle causing bodily harm, reckless driving, negligent driving, proceeding through a red traffic light and failing to notify authorities of a change of residential address.

Mr Nassar has also been charged with driving recklessly and not giving his details to another driver in relation to a separate traffic incident at Lakemba on January 14.

Ten people were hospitalised and at least two people suffered broken bones when Mr Nassar’s Mitsubishi SUV crashed through the front door of Hijab House at Greenacre on Thursday afternoon.

CCTV footage seen by AAP shows the wagon initially stopped in the left lane 30 metres before the traffic lights at the intersection of Boronia and Waterloo Roads with other cars moving around it.

When it takes off, it rear-ends a white sedan, causing a series of minor collisions between other cars waiting at the traffic lights.

Smoke can be seen billowing into the air as the wagon’s wheels spin for at least 20 seconds behind the white sedan.

The sedan is eventually pushed around the corner and the SUV continues through the intersection and ploughs into the store.

Mr Nassar was conscious when arrested and was taken to hospital for testing under police guard.

After being interviewed at Bankstown Police Station, Mr Nassar was released without charge, before being re-arrested at a Greenacre home on Friday night.

-AAP

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