A CABBIE will stand trial in April accused of dangerous driving and inflicting grievous bodily harm after a two-car crash in Huddersfield.

In an unusual move, lawyers have charged Mohammed Saleem both with dangerous driving and two counts of grievous bodily harm.

He was the driver of one of the cars involved in the crash which put a teenager in intensive care for several days and left another driver badly hurt.

The teenage bridesmaid was seriously injured in the car crash on a notorious stretch of road in Huddersfield.

Saleem, 26, of Glebe Street, Huddersfield, yesterday pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving and two allegations of inflicting grievous bodily harm following the collision between two taxis on Meltham Road, Lockwood, last July.

Jodie Miller, 19, was on her way to Holmfirth from a wedding in Huddersfield when the collision happened.

She suffered multiple injuries in the early hours crash and was treated in intensive care after the collision.

Saleem, whose Vauxhall Vectra taxi was not carrying any passengers, is also accused of causing grievous bodily harm to fellow cabbie Ghulam Abbas Khan, who had Miss Miller and her boyfriend in his vehicle.

Miss Miller's boyfriend was also injured in the incident.

Saleem’s trial is expected to last about four days and during a hearing at Bradford Crown Court yesterday Recorder Anthony Hawks confirmed that it would start in the week commencing April 11.

Saleem was granted bail until the trial date.

The decision to charge Saleem with grievous bodily harm as well as dangerous driving means that he could face a longer sentence if convicted.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “In circumstances where the manner of someone’s driving is deemed to be so reckless as to leave someone badly hurt, the way is open to bring in grievous bodily harm charges as well as the driving offence.

“The bodily harm charge carries with it up to five years in prison and that could be in addition to any sentence for the driving charge if convicted”.

Following the collision last summer a member of Miss Miller’s family called for extra safety measures on the ‘notorious’ Huddersfield road. The crash was the latest in a series of terrible car incidents on the road, between Lockwood and Armitage Bridge.