Uber driver who sparked a major terrorist alert when he ploughed into a crowd of tourists had been driving around London uninsured and without a licence for two years!

• Juma Omar floored the throttle of his Toyota Prius in London in October 2017
• Omar, 48, careered over the pavement, sending pedestrians flying into the air 
• He claimed the brakes had failed, but he was convicted of dangerous driving
• Omar got a job with Uber using fake documents and did not have insurance 
  By KHALEDA RAHMAN FOR MAILONLINE
  
  

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Juma Omar (pictured) had been driving around London uninsured and without a licence for two years when he sparked a major terror alert

An Uber driver who sparked a major terror alert when he ploughed into a crowd of tourists had been driving around London uninsured and without a licence for two years.

Tanzanian Juma Omar, 48, floored the throttle of his Toyota Prius outside the Natural History Museum and careered over the pavement, sending pedestrians flying into the air as others ran screaming from his path.

He claimed the brakes had failed, but he was convicted of dangerous driving by a jury at the Old Bailey.

The court heard Omar came to Britain as an asylum seeker in 1995, but was told to get out the country in 1998.

He met his wife shortly afterwards and they had four children together.

Omar applied for a replacement passport in another man's name and used that identity to pass his driving test.

He got a job with Uber using the fake documents and did not have insurance when hit the pedestrians in on October 7 last year.

Up to 11 people suffered non-life threatening injuries and Omar was wrestled to the floor and detained by members of the public, including Pixie Lott's boyfriend, Oliver Cheshire.

Dozen of armed police arrived fearing another terror attack was in progress in the aftermath of the London Bridge and Westminster attacks earlier that year.

Omar admitted having a passport in a false name after his application for asylum was rejected.

He also admitted having a false private taxi licence as well as having no insurance and no driving licence.

Jailing him for 15 months the judge, Mr Recorder Oliver Sells, QC, said the driving was 'appallingly dangerous.'

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Omar, 48, floored the throttle of his Toyota Prius outside the Natural History Museum (pictured) and careered over the pavement, sending pedestrians flying into the air

'The public is entitled to assume that the driver of an Uber car is who he says he is and they have proper qualifications - licence, insurance and the necessary paperwork ' the judge said.

'You flouted those important safeguards so the public was at risk whenever you were driving.'

Turning to the incident the judge said: 'You drove that Toyota Prius with your foot on the accelerator at 100 per cent pressure for over six seconds reaching speeds of almost 30mph.

'Witnesses spoke of being run down thrown on to the bonnet of the car and railings as you careered around.

'The crowds fled in fear of their lives, leaving the injured lying on the ground.

'It is no thanks to you that nobody suffered really serious harm. It was an act of utter recklessness with the most serious consequences.'

Prosecutor Bill McGivern said: 'Mr Omar was waiting for his passenger when his vehicle shot forward, mounting the pavement and hitting a number of pedestrians.

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Omar got a job with Uber using the fake documents and did not have insurance when hit the pedestrians in on October 7 last year. 

'People thought it was some kind of attack going on - this man put his foot down on the accelerator and instead of taking his foot off he kept it down.

'He ploughed through the people who were in the vicinity of the vehicle, knocked them down and this, the crown say, amounted to dangerous driving.

'Members of the public were fleeing, they thought this might have been a terrorist attack.

'This was a classic case of pushing the wrong pedal and then continuing to push it.'

CCTV footage played to an Old Bailey jury showed the heart-stopping moment Omar slammed on the accelerator, launching members of the public into the air.

People can be seen running in panic as Omar's car drove across the pavement before doing a U-turn and continuing to hit those in his path.

Omar's out of control Prius was only halted when he smashed into two parked cars.

Fortunately no one suffered any serious injury, only 'cuts and bruises.'

Omar emerged from the car frantically saying 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.'

He was then wrestled to the ground and detained by passers-by.

Omar insisted that the car had started moving on its own when he leant out the door to wave to a customer.

'As soon as the car started I pressed the car brake but the car didn't stop, I don't know why,' he told the jury.

'The car went forward and hit two stationary people.'

'I am sorry for everyone who got injured, I didn't mean that. That is from my heart.'

But investigators who inspected Omar's car found it was in perfect working order before the crash.

Any of those injured would not have been able to claim compensation from Omar's insurance, or Uber.

Omar, of Barking, east London, was convicted of dangerous driving.

He slumped over the dock as he was convicted and looked sadly at friends and relatives in the public gallery as he was led to the cells.