Van driver jailed for mowing down cyclist in road rage revenge
A van driver who deliberately mowed down a cyclist in a revenge attack during a road rage clash has been jailed for four years.
Kalvinder Bhamra swerved his vehicle into 25-year-old John Carter in Dudley after being twice punched to the ground by the bike rider moments earlier.
Trouble flared when the 65-year-old blocked part of the street while trying to turn his van right onto Halesowen Road from Baptist End Road in Netherton on August 1 last year.
The stationary van was in the way of Mr Carter, who was cycling to work and stopped to shout abuse at the electrician.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that the cyclist admitted punching and kicking Bhamra after he got out of the vehicle, saying he felt threatened and that the driver had grabbed his bike and would not give it back.
A motorcyclist stopped, got between the pair during the scuffle and told them to grow up.
Mr Carter said: “After the motorcyclist left I went back to get my bike, put my headphones on and started riding.
"The next thing I knew I was crawling across the road onto the grass. I had no idea what had happened because I was hit from behind.”
The defendant told the court: “It was not my intention to cause him any harm. I was hoping to call the police and sort it out.
"My intention was to park behind him. I misjudged the distance between me and the bike.”
Bhamra, from Chichester Avenue, Dudley, denied causing grievous bodily harm but was found guilty by the jury who delivered a majority verdict of 11-1.
He was remanded for reports and was jailed for four years by Judge Dean Kershaw on Friday.
