Taxi driver avoids jail sentence after pushing over woman
November 02, 2010
A former taxi driver injured an elderly woman when he pushed her over during a bout of ‘road rage’, a court has heard.
Nigel Burrows had been grabbed by the woman from behind when she came to help her husband who was fighting with Burrows after following him in his car.
Burrows, 40, of Gloucester Road, Aldershot, admitted actual causing bodily harm on Monday when his trial was due to start.
He was given a suspended prison sentence at Guildford Crown Court.
The court heard Burrows was driving in Ottershaw, Surrey, on December 21 last year when he cut off the victim and her husband in their car.
The couple decided to follow him and Burrows pulled over into a road to let them pass but then they stopped and the woman’s husband got out to challenge Burrows.
A fight broke out and the woman then got out of the car to help her husband and grabbed Burrows from behind.
Burrows, who served in the army, warned the woman to let go before pushing back, causing her to slip and fall.
She received injuries that require months of hospital treatment, the court heard.
James Thacker, defending, said his client did not know the victim was a woman or elderly because she had grabbed him from behind.
He added conditions were icy which was one of the reasons she fell.
Burrows was a self-employed taxi driver who worked for Runnymede Borough Council at the time, taking disabled children to and from school. He has since lost this job.
Mr Thacker said his client called 999 and made no attempt to leave the scene.
“He was told by the operator to get back into his vehicle and that is precisely what he did,” he said.
Mr Thacker read from witness statements that said he had been shouting “help, help” while fighting with the victim’s husband.
Burrows was arrested after the incident and answered ‘no comment’ to questions in a police interview.
Mr Thacker also said the couple acted inappropriately by pursuing Burrows and should have simply noted his registration number.
He added: “He accepts that he pushed her. He accepts that, but for that, she would not have fallen over. He’s extremely remorseful.”
Mr Thacker said his client had no previous convictions but was cautioned for a common assault after a parking argument in 2001.
He added Burrows served in the army in Northern Ireland and had suffered mental health problems since leaving the armed forces.
The court heard Burrows was unable to pay fines or compensation because he had been declared bankrupt with debts of £200,000.
“He has lost everything. He has lost his wife, though he still regularly sees her and his two children. He has lost his employment,” Mr Thacker said.
Judge Christopher Critchlow gave Burrows an eight-month prison sentence but suspended it for 24 months.
Judge Critchlow also ordered Burrows to carry out 250 hours unpaid work.
He said: “You must turn up and carry it out. If you don’t you will come back to the court and almost certainly go to prison.
“You have just escaped by the skin of your teeth from going to prison because of your problems.”
Source; http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/20 ... over_woman
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