A motorist who went “over the top” during an early morning road rage confrontation in Elland has been fined £500.
Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday how driver Andrew Nelson followed Jamie Collis’ car following a manoeuvre by Collis on a roundabout in the town back in December 2013.
Collis parked up in a side road hoping that Mr Nelson would drive on, but prosecutor David Lampitt said the complainant pulled up behind him and approached the defendant.
Mr Lampitt said: “The Crown accept that the violence was initiated by the complainant who punched and then headbutted the defendant.” Collis, 26, of Ridge View Drive, Birkby, Huddersfield, suffered cuts to his mouth and a nose bleed, but he then reacted by repeatedly punching the complainant.
The court heard that Collis’ actions had initially been in self defence, but he accepted going beyond what was reasonable.
Mr Lampitt said it was believed at one stage that Mr Nelson had suffered a fractured eye socket in the incident but there was no reliable medical evidence to confirm that injury.
“It looked like it might have been a fractured eye socket,” he added. “I can’t put it any higher than that.”
Collis initially faced a charge of unlawful wounding, but at an earlier court hearing his guilty plea to a lesser offence of assault was accepted.
Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said Collis was a hard working man who was a model citizen apart from reacting badly to the situation more than a year ago.
Barrister Andrew Dallas, for Collis, said his client was very remorseful for what had happened.
Judge Durham Hall, who ordered Collis to pay £300 costs, said he had “gone over the top” during the confrontation.
He told Collis: “Drivers sometimes are vexed by somebody else. This driver was vexed by you.”
“He shouldn’t have followed you. There shouldn’t have been a confrontation. He shouldn’t have headbutted you and you shouldn’t have laid into him.”
