Learner driver smashed mum’s BMW then attacked bystander

A DRUG-addled learner driver drove dangerously before smashing up his mum’s BMW.

He then knocked a man out who tried to help him, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury.

Part-time physical trainer Jonathan Sadri, 27, of Hardwick, Yate, pleaded guilty to GBH, dangerous driving and a public order offence. He also admitted driving matters comprising of failing to stop after an accident or provide a specimen and driving without a proper licence and insurance.

The recorder Mr Richard Weekes QC jailed him for three years and ten months. He told Sadri: “You chose to put yourself in a position where you were capable of doing things you would not do if you were sober.” Sadri was banned from driving for 41 months and told to take an extended driving test.

Ramin Pakrooh, prosecuting, told Bristol Crown Court it was around 4pm on October 1 last year when witnesses saw Sadri driving erratically in Patchway before crashing into a parked van and road sign.

When Sadri tried to borrow a phone to call his mum, bystander Alexander Symon, 59, tried to calm him. But the court was told Sadri pressed his head against the older man’s head and then dipped left and right before unleashing a disguised, devastating blow which felled Mr Symon instantly. He suffered a fractured skull and eye socket, a bleed on the brain, was hospitalised for a month and could be left unable to smell or taste.

Mr Pakrooh described how, with Mr Symon laying unconscious on the road, Sadri left the scene – only to cause further commotion with people at a nearby Tesco Express. The court heard he stripped to the waist and was “posturing” with men at the scene.

Police called in found Sadri at his home. Having told them he didn’t want to be arrested, Sadri hid in a wardrobe. But he was arrested, taken to hospital and remained in an aggressive state.

When interviewed he said he had acted in self-defence after Mr Symon “looked him up and down” as if he was going to assault him. When showed CCTV of the incident he made no further comment.

Charles Row QC, defending, said his remorseful client had taken cocaine and steroids at the time and had continually asked for updates on Mr Symon’s recovery.

Mr Row said: “He feels deeply ashamed, upset and embarrassed by what he sees on the footage.”