A driver ran his car over the leg of a pedestrian in a supermarket parking lot after the pedestrian called him a “W *****” because he was driving too fast.
Joshua Davies, 27, was involved in an altercation with Ryan Dudley in the Tesco Extra parking lot in Cardiff on December 19 last year.
Mr. Dudley was walking back to his car at the Excelsior Road store in Gabalfa to pick up his face mask when he heard a “creak” of tires from the left and saw a silver Mini Cooper drive at high speed.
As the vehicle drove by, Mr. Dudley made an insulting gesture and called the driver a “W *****”. Davies then turned his car and drove back towards the victim.
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At the verdict hearing in Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday, Prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said, “The prosecution’s case is that the defendant has come closer and has gotten faster instead of slowing down … seconds later the vehicle suddenly turned in Mr. Dudley’s direction and he could see the profile on the tire.
“The front wheels began to creak and jerked at Mr. Dudley. He jumped on his right side to get to the rear of his vehicle, but the defendant’s Mini Cooper hit Mr. Dudley’s left leg. He was thrown three feet into the air got up and saw that the defendant was standing still. “
The court heard that the victim began to record the incident and both his Saab and Ford Focus had been pushed forward on a grass verge by Davies’ Mini Cooper, with Mr Dudley’s vehicle being damaged.
At this point, the defendant’s sister, Roxanne Davies, got out of the Mini Cooper with the defendant and started yelling at Mr Dudley, who replied, “I just got run over by this C ***”.
Both the defendant and Ms. Davies got back into the vehicle and drove off when Mr. Dudley recorded the license plate.
Later that evening, police visited Davies’ home on Sanderling Drive, St. Mellons and arrested him.
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It was initially alleged that Mr Dudley hit the defendant’s car window and his foot slipped before colliding with other vehicles, but he later pleaded guilty of dangerous driving.
In a personal testimony from the victim, Mr. Dudley said he had “suffered a lot of pain” since the incident and had to pay for repairs to his car.
To mitigate this, David Pinnell said the defendant worked as a self-employed contractor and was recently hired for a large contract. He asked the court to consider a suspended sentence.
As a condemnation, Recorder Greg Bull told QC: “You lost your temper when you drove your Mini Cooper in completely unnecessary circumstances. You drove way too fast in a supermarket parking lot. Mr Dudley yelled at you and hit you in the windshield, but what was your reaction? was beyond all senses …
“This was a classic case of street anger that is all too widespread.”
Davies was sentenced to nine months on probation from 18 months. He was also ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work and was banned from driving for three years.
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