DETROIT — On Wednesday, December 11, Wayne County Judge Vera Massey Jones sentenced Dearborn Heights woman Natalie Hassan to 47 month in jail for charges stemming from an altercation in April 2012 involving another  woman.

Hassan ran over Dearborn Heights woman Hannan Achkar in the parking lot of an apartment complex after the two were involved in an altercation. After fleeing the scene, Hassan eventually turned herself over to authorities later that evening. Achkar ultimately sustained permanent brain damage as a result of the incident.  

Hassan.

Hassan was found guilty last month on three counts: reckless driving causing bodily injury to Achkar, assault with a dangerous weapon, and fleeing the scene.

During the hearing, Hassan spoke to Judge Jones, stating that she was remorseful about the incident.

“Hassan believes this was an unfortunate situation and she prays for the recovery of Hannan every day. It’s something she will have to live with for the rest of her life,” said Amir Makled, an Attorney from the Law Office of Cyril Hall, the law firm representing Hassan. 

Despite the sentencing, the law firm is still looking to file an appeal against the judge’s ruling last month. Hassan had been acquitted of additional charges that included assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, and she was also acquitted of any charges pertaining to a third woman involved in the altercation.

Had Hassan been convicted with any of those counts, she could have faced a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

At the time of the altercation, a third woman, Nancy Faraj, claimed to have suffered injuries as a result of Hassan’s driving as well. Faraj said she ran out of her apartment to aid her friend Achkar after witnessing the altercation from her living room window. 

Achkar.

But Faraj’s testimony was shaky in court, with text message evidence suggesting that she and Achkar had plotted to engage in a physical altercation with Hassan immediately after a run-in with her at a neighborhood beauty supply store.

“Faraj and Achkar were the initial aggressors in this matter. Hassan was on her way home from a beauty supply store. Unfortunately, as a result of the choices they made, the incident transpired into a sad result for Achkar and her family,” Makled adds. “There are still several issues that can be brought out of this case. Our office is determined to get a full acquittal of all her charges, and we won’t stop until we can get the best results we feel we can possibly get.”

Statutory guidelines for sentencing in a case of this nature would usually result in jail time in the range of 22 to 47 months, with possibility of probation. However, due to Hassan’s previous criminal record, which includes both felony and misdemeanor convictions, she was given a harsher sentence. She was credited for already serving 120 days in jail.

Hassan is the mother of a three-year-old daughter, who will be in the care of her ex-husband. 

Meanwhile, Achkar has had to undergo neurosurgery at least twice after suffering severe head trauma following the incident. She is currently bound to a wheelchair.

Achkar’s father, Hussein Achkar, reached out to The Arab American News with an update on his daughter’s condition.

 “She’s not responsive with anything. They took a piece out of her brian…and every day we are waiting until she speaks, or remembers something. But she’s not speaking, she’s not even eating. It has changed her life forever,” Hussein Achkar said.

Hussein Achkar also wanted to send a message out to the community, stating that his daughter was thrown into the middle of a fight that she originally had nothing to do with. He claims that Faraj had a friendship with Hassan’s ex-husband, and that is what triggered animosity between the women. 

He adds that he doesn’t think Hassan was completely guilty in this situation either, but says that she could have escaped the altercation without having to run over his daughter.

“My daughter had no business in this fight. It was a fight between the two other girls, and she is the only one whose life will be changed forever.”