Exeter road rage driver banned for mowing down cyclist in Tesco car park

Good verdict for the criminal driver. Love the milkshake wriggle!
QUOTE:
A driver has been banned for deliberately ramming a cyclist in a road rage attack in a supermarket car park.

Damon Browning became angry with take-away delivery rider Carl Bennett because he thought he had cut him up at a roundabout on the way to Tesco in Digby, Exeter.

He played cat and mouse with the cyclist by stopping to let him pass and then overtaking him so close that his wing mirror (SIC) nearly hit him.

He leaned out of his window after stopping for the third time and asked ‘do you want to sort it out here?’ Mr Bennett replied ‘really?’ and rode off.

He heard Browning’s car revving up behind him and was then hit by it and thrown onto the bonnet before falling onto the road.

Browning left him injured on the tarmac as he swerved around him and drove away at speed, Exeter Crown Court was told.

A judge branded him a coward and told him the only reason he was not going straight to jail was the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to an instruction from the Lord Chief Justice to use custody as a last resort.

Browning, aged 25, of Emmanuel Close, Exeter, admitted dangerous driving and was jailed for a year, suspended for 18 months, ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work and pay £500 compensation.

He was banned from driving for two years by Judge David Evans and ordered to take an extended re-test before he is allowed back on the road. (applause)

The judge told him: �You used your car as a weapon. It is a matter of luck that the cyclist was not more seriously injured. Witnesses saw you deliberately rev up your engine and collide with the back of his bike.

“This was an incident of road rage, effectively, where your culpability was very high, although tempered by your autism.

“You drove into him from behind like a coward, thereby taking a very real, and importantly, an uncontrollable risk. You could have caused really serious injury or even death.

“I would be sending you straight to prison today. The only thing saving you is the pandemic and the conditions it has created in prison. With your autism, it would not just be difficult, it would be awful.� (IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FUN - SM)

Mr Joss Ticehurst, prosecuting, said the incident started at a roundabout close to the supermarket where Browning felt he had been made to brake suddenly by the cyclist, who was working for a food delivery service.

He overtook him but then slowed down twice to let him pass as they both headed towards the car park. They exchanged gestures and Browning asked Mr Bennett if he wanted to ‘sort it out’.

The cyclist rode off and then heard the car revving behind him and being thrown onto the bonnet. He suffered bruising to his back and head, his electric bike was wrecked, his phone and glasses were broken, and the total cost to him was more than £2,000.

Miss Rachel Smith, defending, said Browning has been diagnosed with autism but has managed to hold down a job. He tries to avoid confrontation normally and has not been in trouble before.

He acted out of character because it was a time of great stress. His pregnant partner suffered serious morning sickness and had asked him to take her to a shop to satisfy a craving for a milk shake. (WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY THIS BEFORE? - SM)

She was physically sick just before the collision and Browning was panicking when he hit the cyclist and drove off. (SOB SOB - SM)

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon...banned-4352711