Road rage incident led to crash
An apparent road-rage incident that led to a crash in Riccarton Road has cost the aggressor a term of community detention, a fine, driving disqualification, and a $3217 bill for the damage.
Christchurch District Court Judge Alistair Garland told 21-year-old Dylan James Rockhouse that he had to accept that his dangerous driving was a “material cause” of the accident and ordered him to pay the reparation to the other driver’s insurance company.
Rockhouse, a digger driver and father-of-two, had pleaded guilty to the charge of dangerous driving, and disorderly behaviour. He was also appearing for sentence for failing to do an earlier community work sentence.
Rockhouse had applied to the court on October 7 for the community work sentence to be cancelled and replaced with a fine because it was too hard for him to get there because of his other commitments.
He said in his application that he was no longer drinking, he had grown up, and considered himself to be a family man.
Later the same day, he committed the driving offences. “It is not difficult to see that your fine words don’t sit comfortably with your conduct,” Judge Garland told him.
Rockhouse told police at the time that he had pursued the other car because it had cut him off. Today he said in court, through defence counsel April Kelland, that he had gone after the car because the driver owed him money after buying a car from him. Rockhouse and his family were under financial pressure at the time.
Rockhouse drove aggressively and tailgated the other car, and the other driver accelerated because he was fearful for his safety. A passenger phoned the police to make a complaint.
Rockhouse pursued the other car at speed along rural roads and then into Hornby. He overtook the other car and tried to force it to stop. When the other car tried to overtake, Rockhouse swerved in front of it.
The chase continued into Riccarton Road where the surface was wet from drizzle, and the other car crashed, in the middle of an intersection.
Many passers-by saw what happened next. Rockhouse went to the driver’s window of the other car, punching it and telling the driver to get out. When he stayed in the car, Rockhouse yelled him, and punched, kicked, and head-butted the window.
Mrs Kelland suggested the judge should take into account Rockhouse’s efforts to reform, and see his behaviour as “a glitch”.
He has a brief criminal history of violence and driving offences and is assessed as a low risk of reoffending.
Judge Garland imposed three months of community detention at an address in Rolleston, with a nightly curfew, nine months of disqualification from driving, reparation of $3217 to be paid at $50 a week, and a fine of $400 for the disorderly behaviour.
He also refused to cancel the existing community work sentence and told Rockhouse he must complete the outstanding hours.
Category: News
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