Drunk driver deliberately drove into teenagers
A drunk construction worker deliberately drove his van into a group of teenagers in a fit of road rage and knocked one of them down, a judge heard.
James Woodward lost his temper when the youngsters allegedly banged on the side of his van and spat at it.
He stopped and challenged them to a fight, then got back behind the wheel, mounted the pavement and hit a 15-year-old boy, Mr Pat Sullivan, prosecuting, said.
Luckily the youngster suffered only relatively minor injuries, a bump on his head and a cut to his ankle, although he was taken to hospital for a check up.
On his way back past the scene, in Boney Hay Lane, about half an hour Later, Woodward was stopped by the police and breath tested.
He was later found to be more than twice over the drink-drive limit.
Woodward, aged 29, of Whitehouse Crescent, Burntwood, who admitted dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol was given a 15 month prison sentence suspended for two years, banned from driving for four years and ordered to pay £250 compensation to the victim, who cannot be named.
Recorder Mr Timothy Raggatt QC told him: "You have escaped immediate custody by a hair's breadth.
"This was a very bad piece of driving because it was deliberately dangerous in which you used your vehicle as a weapon. "There is no excuse to drive when you are drunk - and you plainly were.
Mr Sullivan said the incident happened on September 4 when the victim and six of his friends were on their way home from a park. The defendant pulled up, got out and squared up to one of the boys and offered to take them all on in a fight. He said to one youngster he would 'slit his throat' and chased him.
Woodward then got back in to his van and mounted the pavement. "The boy had no way out - he was driven in to by the defendant at speed.
"He hit the boy to the bottom of his back and he fell on his front. The defendant carried on and drove off."
After his arrest, Woodward said a family problem had been playing on his mind. On his way to see his uncle, one of the group had banged on his van and another spat at it. He lost his cool and decided 'to teach the boys a lesson.'
Mr Stephen Worlock, defending, said: "Thankfully, the young man was not badly hurt. Little harm was done - a matter of chance absolutely."
