By CAMERON LUCADOUWELLS
A CRANBOURNE tow-truck driver, who was allegedly threatened with a gun during a road-rage incident on the Monash Freeway, was facing a community corrections order in Dandenong Magistrates’ Court last week.
The 32-year-old man faced a charge of reckless conduct endangering life for allegedly “side-swiping” a station-wagon with his truck on Monash Freeway on 2 December 2012.
The prosecution alleged the driver had caused the wagon to “spin out” but no injury was caused.
In a police interview, the accused allegedly made full admission, saying he was “angry” at the time.
Sitting in the gallery, he denied to the court his truck made contact with the wagon. He confirmed a statement that he swerved towards the wagon because its driver held up a gun.
The man was also facing an alleged breach of an intervention violence order against his wife and three young children in September last year.
On that occasion, he threw items around the family home when his shaver wasn’t working. During an abusive outburst, he allegedly blamed his wife for “losing a day’s work”.
Police say the accused told them in a police interview he was at “breaking point”.
His defence lawyer said the station wagon driver had caused the man “a lot of grief” during “an extreme incident of road rage”.
“There was a lot of swearing at my client [who’s] a man driving for many years, who’s confronted by many incidents. But this was too much for him.”
She said her client’s life had “spiralled out of control” since the road-rage incident. It had led to separation from his wife and family, the loss of his job and the intervention order.
Magistrate Julie O’Donnell said the man had a limited criminal history, but faced a “longer-than-usual” community corrections order because of the seriousness of the offence.
She stood the matter down to have the man assessed for a community corrections order.
