Road rage shock as driver confronts dog walker, 78
ASOUTHPORT pensioner is warning other road users after he says a hotheaded motorist tried to run him over as he walked his dog.
John Rushton, 78, was walking along the Promenade last Tuesday morning, when he went to cross towards Marine Lake.
As he did so, he says, a vehicle sped at him “from nowhere”.
He said: “It was about 7.30 in the morning, the same walk I do almost every day. I’m always careful to ensure that when I cross the Promenade that the road is clear back to the Royal Clifton to my left and the Nevill Street traffic lights to my right.
“That particular morning, the only vehicle in sight was at Nevill Street, about 250 yards away, so I judged it safe to cross.”
He pulled his dog out of the way, but he said that the driver then reversed to come at him again, before hurling abuse at him.
He said: “I immediately waved to the driver to slow down. The car screeched to a halt about 30 or 40 yards farther down the Promenade and then reversed back to where I was standing, again, at a ridiculously high speed.
“At this point, the driver had his car window down shouting all sorts of obscene language. He asked me if I ‘wanted some’, which I took to mean violence.
“Not satisfied with this, he drove the car across the road, mounted the pavement with the full length of the car and made two real attempts to run it into me. Both times I had to drag my dog and get myself to a safe position.
“His female passenger pleaded with him to drive away and he reversed the car back onto the wrong side of the road, holding up traffic and then sped off again at high speed, towards the Royal Clifton.
“The driver was a white male about 35-40 years of age. He was driving a high-powered black BMW 5 or 6 series convertible.”
John said other drivers checked he was all right and two dog-walkers came to his assistance.
He added: “I hope the police find this driver. The next time he has a spell of road rage, things might not end so well.”
Police have been approached for comment.