Man rejects value of car he rammed

The victim of a man who wrecked her vehicle after a deliberate ramming on a busy road through Napier will have to take him to the Disputes Tribunal because a judge couldn’t settle on the cost of the wrecked vehicle.

Two quotes put before Judge Bridget Mackintosh by police in Napier District Court on Friday put the cost of replacing the woman’s vehicle at $7000 to $8000.

But convicted man Brent Joshua Woods, 31, didn’t agree, arguing through defence counsel Scott Jefferson the vehicle was not in the best of condition beforehand, and wasn’t worth as much as was claimed.

Judge Mackintosh said the issue of reparation “isn’t able to be resolved here and should go to the Disputes Tribunal”.

Woods, having previously pleaded guilty to two charges and having sentencing adjourned for five weeks because of the reparation issue, was sentenced to 100 hours’ community work, disqualified from driving for six months for reckless driving and fined $300 plus court costs of $130 for fighting in a public place.

It related to incidents surrounding Woods’ following and ramming of the woman’s vehicle on a stretch of Hyderabad Rd between the Prebensen Dr and Pandora Rd roundabouts about 9.10am on July 27.

According to a police summary, Woods was driving a Mitsubishi car following a woman in a Toyota, who had her adult son as a passenger.

Woods “intentionally” drove his vehicle into the side of the woman’s vehicle, causing it to run off the road before pulling in front of it as it stopped.

The woman’s son then allegedly smashed two of Woods’ windows with a hay slasher, before Woods reversed into the Toyota.

The two men were fighting on the footpath when police arrived and separated them.

A doctor had to assess the woman’s sore back and possible injury from a piece of glass in her eye, the summary said.

Asked for an explanation for his actions, Woods told police he was provoked by the second male waving the slasher out of the window of his car.

Witnesses told Hawke’s Bay Today, however, that Woods’ vehicle had followed the woman’s vehicle for several kilometres from Bay View.

The second man is also facing a charge relating to the incident and has pleaded not guilty.

Judge Mackintosh said Woods, who accepted he had intentionally driven into the side of the Toyota, had previous convictions for reckless and dangerous driving.