A COVENTRY man launched a vicious road-rage attack on another driver, smashing his jaw in front of his 13-year-old son, because he had refused to let him into a queue of traffic.
Mohammed Errabou denied inflicting grievous bodily harm on his victim, claiming he was not the attacker – but a jury at Warwick Crown Court took less than an hour to find him guilty.
Errabou (22) of Burrows Close, Coventry, who the judge said had shown no remorse, was jailed for three years.
Prosecutor Edward Hollingsworth said: “This case concerns a road-rage assault. The question’s going to be whether it was Mr Errabou or some other person who caused the injury.”
He explained to the jury that on October 2017 Justin Killarney had picked up his 13-year-old son from school, and their route home took them along Corporation Street in Nuneaton.
There was heavy traffic, and cars were having to filter together to get through the congestion – and the driver of a silver Ford Focus, tried to pull in front of Mr Killarney’s red Fiesta.
“He wanted Mr Killarney to give way, and Mr Killarney didn’t want to give way, and something of a stand-off took place, and the Focus ended up behind the Fiesta.
“Rude gestures were exchanged between the two vehicles, gestures from the Focus, and Mr Killarney reciprocating in kind.
“If things had stopped there, we wouldn’t be here.
“But the driver of the Focus, who we say was Mr Errabou, stopped and got out and went over to Mr Killarney’s vehicle, to the driver’s door.
“He either hit or kicked the door with such force that it caused a dent and the window smashed.
“The driver of the Focus then punched Mr Killarney hard to the face through the broken window, certainly once and possibly twice, and Mr Killarney had a memory of seeing something in his hand consistent with being a knuckleduster.”
Errabou then returned to his own car and left, and Mr Killarney went to hospital where his jaw was found to have been broken in two places.
He had to undergo an operation under general anaesthetic, and still has two metal plates in his jaw.
A witness used his phone to take a photo as the attacker left the scene, and although the facial features could not be seen, the person had the same build as Errabou.
But the picture did capture the number of the Focus, and when it was stopped by the police 11 days later, Errabou, who at first gave false details, was the driver.
He was arrested, and Mr Killarney picked him out on an identity procedure, added Mr Hollingsworth.
Errabou denied being responsible, and in court he claimed he had only bought the car a couple of days before his arrest from someone he said buys and sells cars in Foleshill Road.
But the jury took just 55 minutes to reject that and find him guilty of the attack.
Jailing him, Judge Antony Potter told Errabou: “You had every opportunity to drive off and put the rather unpleasant exchange behind you – but you didn’t do that.
“You turned right and parked in the junction and ran across to Mr Killarney. The anger you felt was plainly exhibited.
“You kicked out to Mr Killarney’s vehicle with sufficient force that you didn’t just cause the indentation to the door, you broke the window.
“It beggars belief that you didn’t come to your senses at that stage. But you then took the opportunity to hit out at Mr Killarney, and you had come prepared to do that.
“Only you know what was in your hand, but I am quite satisfied that as you went to that vehicle you had armed yourself with something, and you punched him with sufficient ferocity that it broke his jaw.
“When you came to this court you pleaded not guilty, and you have, since then, played the system. It would have been open to you at any stage to indicate your guilt in the face of overwhelming evidence.
“This attack came out of nowhere and was of extraordinary ferocity, and there is no sense of remorse.”
