A WEALTHY builder who punched a motorist in a road rage attack was today behind bars.
Keiron Johnson, whose nine-year-old son was with him in the car at the time, flew into a rage after an incident with Craig Marshall at traffic lights in Whitefield, near Bury.
The pair - Johnson in a BMW X5 and Mr Marshall in a Volkswagen Golf - exchanged abuse through their open windows as they travelled beside each other, Bury magistrates were told.
Johnson forced Mr Marshall to stop by swerving his car into his path. He then got out of his four- wheel drive vehicle, opened the other driver's car door and punched him in the face before driving off. Mr Marshall, 25, of Ramsbottom, suffered a broken tooth and bloody nose.
District Judge Alan Berg told Johnson: "It was a vicious assault at a time when he was in no position to defend himself. You set out to teach him a lesson by delivering a vicious punch to his face.
'Road rage'
"You had no need or right to get out of your car in the first place. This is a bad example of road rage. It cannot be tolerated and must be punished."
Johnson, a construction boss, from Eight Acre, Whitefield, was jailed for 10 weeks and told to pay Mr Marshall £500 in compensation.
He had denied charges of assault and driving without reasonable consideration for other road users but was found guilty by district judge Berg after an earlier trial.
He appeared before the same judge for sentencing.
The incident happened on Bury New Road, Whitefield, in September 2004.
Mr Marshall said he was travelling into Manchester with a friend when Johnson cut in front of him at traffic lights.
Swerved
The court heard that Mr Marshall accelerated to "tailgate" him, then sounded his horn more than once and flashed at him. The two ended up alongside each other before Johnson swerved in front forcing Mr Marshall to stop.
After the hearing Mr Marshall said: "It was just a shock. He opened the door and hit me. I am glad that it is all over and it is something that I just want to forget. It has been an awful experience - one of the worst in my life."
Johnson was represented in court by celebrity solicitor Nick Freeman, who has helped a string of star names beat driving charges.
The court was told that father-of-three Johnson claimed during his trial that he was acting in self-defence but Mr Freeman conceded that the punch was thrown in "retaliation".
He said: "The complainant followed in an aggressive manner. At no stage did the defendant follow the complainant. The catalyst in terms of the reason the defendant behaved like he did was because of the emotional nature of his nine-year-old son.
"The defendant shows remorse and contrition and is not a violent man."
Johnson, who has previous convictions but none for violence, was fined £300 for the motoring offence, disqualified from driving for four months and told to pay £450 in court costs.
Johnson's family refused to comment after the hearing.
Should road rage attackers be punished more severely? Have your say.
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10weeksis laughable. He should have been done for GBH and sent down for a few years. British injustice. I carry a tire iron in case this ever happened to me and i'd certainly use it - on him and his car. Hit them where it hurts I say!
Big Car, Big Headed Driver ! How often I see this sort of thing as I drive some 40.000 miles per year.
Johnson in his BMW is typical of the arrogant breed that think they own the roads.
Some of the worst driving I have seen has involved business men in large cars, It appears many of them have no common sense !!
Good. Bullies like him get all they deserve! What sad lives they live when they have to thump someone when they have been forced to put their foot on the brake peddle because someone has made a mistake. The daft thing is it takes more time to have an argument with someone than it does to ignore it. Prisons are full of brainless idiots and this man will be in good company.
I have been driving for over 30 years. The way some younger drivers act on the road is terrible and women seem to be worse than men. It is all so gladitorial. When my wife is driving she still reacts to the provacation and I am always telling her not to get involved its not worth the bother. Let them get in front of you and just carry on driving. I used to enjoy driving but now I would rather be a passenger.
From what's been reported, this seems like a typical big car driver bullying the smaller car driver - thinking, for some reason, they own the roads. It seems pretty common in my experience! I'm glad the bully got a custodial sentence - perhaps he'll think twice before employing his bullish ways in future!
If this is the action of a wealthy adult in an X5 I dread to think how these machines will be used once they get older and are more affordable for the scum of this country.
I see alot of idiots driving these things!!!
BIG MEN,BIG FAST CAR, LITTLE BRAINS,
WE SEE IT EVERYDAY ON THE MOTORWAYS, MEN NORMALLY IN COMPANY CARS THEY CAN'T USE AN INDICATOR, THEY JUST PULL IN AND UNDERTAKE OR QUEUE JUMP.
THE CRASH LAST WEEK WAS CAUSED BY FOUR MEN, FOUR CARS NO INDICATING JUST LANE SWAPPING END UP IN ONE PILE OF METAL.
AS FOR TEN WEEKS SENTENCE WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FOR A MALE JUDGE.
This is great news for honest law abiding citizens.No longer can the wealthy drive around in such
an agressive manner,meting out
violence when they see fit.
Can you imagine any woman
staying with this monster after what he's put a 9 year old child thru. I hope he gets his money
back from Nick Freeman.
Should have got six months the
brute.
I personally think that if all the idiots were taken off the road none of us would suffer from road rage and feel the need to punch such idiots!
i think some of you have got the wrong end of the stick - it was the "victim" that tailgated the X5 flashing his lights and frightening the child in the car in front.
I cant condone violence but if you start flashing other drivers and trying to intimidate them you cant complain if they bite back.
Well it would seem that not only was the sentence low ( he will only serve 5 weeks) but also the amount of compensation - B#500!! This man will have paid Nick "the loophole" Freeman at least 10 or 20 times that to reprsent him!
Lets re write this - Mr Johnson, in his sporty hatchback Golf, raced to get in front of Mr Marshall, family man, a highly respected businessman , and a man, with his child clearly visible in his car, at a busy junction of a road. You know the rest ..But how many times has that happened. A sporty little number trying to get in front of what they consider a slow cumbersome car. Unfortunately X5', Land Rovers, Cayennes can also kick some arse. But the person who thinks that everyone will have one because they will become cheap is very wrong. You do have to afford to run it. And the new ones now will still be out of reach of the "idiots" they have seen. How many road rage incidents do you see with a 4x4, but how many times have you been raced with, cut up by, or driven to distraction by a Corsa with blacked out windows, a baked bean can for an exhaust and a go faster spoiler. Give me a Landrover Driver anyday - 0-60 eventually and we always meet these tossers at the next set of lights
Mr marshall should have thought twice before giving someone abuse whilst they are with their children, he deserved to get a slap, i would have done the same . I bet he thinks before he does it again. he should accept that he has a womens car , and so it seems is as soft as a women and not get upset when a proper bloke in a mans car overtakes him.
.. right sentance in my eyes.
I feel Mr Johnson went a bit too far by punching Mr Marshall, when it was himself that caused the road rage by pulling out in front of Mr Marshall. I do agree that drivers should be punished for road rage and careless driving which may teach them a lesson. I myself even sound my horn if someone pulls in front of me without signalling or as a means to jump the queue but would never get out and punch them. On occasions when I sound my horn at these careless drivers they then put two fingers up at me which tells me how rude and inconsiderate they are. Are these drivers not patient enough to wait at lights etc? It is only the sake of a few seconds not minutes. If everyone drove like this the roads would be a nightmare and dangerous to be on and more and more accidents would occur.
. He should have got a much worse sentance than that and his car should be crushed.
I feel that people are really getting the wrong end of the stick, especially when assumptions are made about a man they barely know. I have known Mr Johnson for a few years; he is a loving kind family man, who has worked his way up, to become a successful businessman, by sheer hard work and determination. We all have tempers which must be controlled. Unfortunately Mr Marshall kept provoking Mr Johnson to such an extent that he finally lost his rag that he got out and walloped him one! This might not be such a good example to Mr Johnson's son, but I think this will teach Mr Marshall not to hurl abuse at somebody while they are with their children! There seems to be some speculation about the types of vehicles involved and stereotyping of the people who drive these cars. It appears that people seem to be jealous of Mr Johnson as he has a new BMW X5 and Mr Marshall has an old Golf. It's obvious that Mr Marshall became jealous and vented his annoyance out on Mr Johnson, who then responded in a manner which I consider to be justified. I firmly believe that there are far too many do gooders in our society, who will object to that view. This guy really needed a good smack in his face and he certainly got it!!,
Dan.
Everything happens for a reason and there is always cause behind any incident like this. The aggression I see is not of the physical variety as demonstrated by Kieron Johnson It lies with the fear instilled by the thoughtless, threatening, and aggressive behaviour of the young man. I think how I would I would feel irrespective of the vehicle I was driving with my child in the back whilst being tailgated and flashed at. Let us note that this incident preceded the course of events and how we all protect what is ours. Mr Johnson is not an aggressive man just someone like you or I who has reacted and made a serious error of judgement.
Unfortunately you never read the full story in the papers and don't get to hear the other side. I have known Mr Johnson a number of years and a nicer, gentler, genuine family man I've yet to meet. I wonder what the judge would do if he or one of his children were ever threatened? I hope he never has to find out like Mr Johnson did.