Carpark ding ends in abuse, assault

A YOUNG Bowen woman has been ordered to undertake unpaid community service for her fierce reaction to a collision in a carpark.

Lukeisha Joyce Sawers, 20, let rip on a female driver who reversed into her Suzuki Swift at a Bridge Rd, West Mackay carpark on July 18 last year, yelling at her: “You’ve hit my f---ing car c--t” before proceeding to physically assault her.

Bowen Magistrates Court heard Sawers, aged 18 at the time of the incident, screamed at the driver as the woman searched her car for a pen to swap details.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Emma Myors told the court the woman eventually got out of the car to try to explain that the damage to Sawers’ car had been an accident, and things turned physical when Sawers started using a mobile phone to film the woman.

“The victim reached out and grabbed the phone from her hands as she didn’t want to be recorded”, Sergeant Myors said.

“(Sawers) has then grabbed the victim’s head and proceeded to rip out a clump of the victim’s hair as she screamed for (Sawers) to stop.”

The court heard police had originally charged Sawers with two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, but later downgraded this to one charge of common assault.

Defence lawyer Amanda Zugno told the court Sawers was the one who had called police after the incident “escalated”.

Ms Zugno said her client had never been to court before and had maintained consistent employment since her graduation from Bowen State High School.

Acting Magistrate Rob Turra summed up the assault as “a case of (Sawers) being 18 and immature” and “really reacting poorly to a situation probably everyone in this courtroom understands”.

He sentenced Sawers to complete 40 hours of community service within 12 months.

No convictions corded against her. were re