DAD RAN DOWN PAL WITH SON IN CAR
Driver hit friend as he fled forecourt brawl – but returned and was arrested
A DAD had his toddler in the car when he ran over his ‘friend’ after a mass brawl broke out on a petrol station forecourt.
Gareth Teszner had been on a day out with his two-year-old son when he stopped at Essar, in Waterloo Road, Burslem, to buy chocolate.
But when a large-scale fight erupted between rival groups, Teszner got back in his Volkswagen Golf and mowed down a man on the pavement outside.
He drove a short distance, stopped in the middle of the road, ditched his child, made a U-turn and sped back to the scene where he was arrested.
Stoke-on-trent Crown Court heard the victim was lucky to escape with ‘minor injuries’.
Now the 31-year-old has been spared jail after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.
Hunter Gray, prosecuting, told the court trouble erupted on August 16, 2020. He said: “At around 6.15pm he was driving along Waterloo Road and his son was in the car with him.
“The defendant and his friends became involved in an altercation with people on the forecourt of the petrol station. The defendant got back in the vehicle and drove off the forecourt.
“He drove out and into traffic and on the pavement. He collided with his friend, knocking him to the floor – he suffered minor injuries. The Pitt Street traffic lights were on green. He stopped at the junction and opened his door.
“Traffic had to take measures to get around him. He took his son out and gave him to friends.
“He got back into the car and did a U-turn. He drove back up Waterloo Road and went onto the wrong side of the road. He was stopped by police and arrested at the scene. There was a large crack in his windscreen. This was deliberate dangerous driving.”
The court heard Teszner, who lives at the Lyme Trust facility, in Newcastle, was in a ‘blind panic’ when the incident happened.
Paul Cliff, mitigating, said: “It doesn’t involve a police chase and it’s not prolonged. This poor driving amounts to a few minutes. The person was not injured, he remains a friend. He had stopped to buy chocolate for his son after visiting a local beauty spot.
“It would appear that someone had taken something from his car. He was driving away in blind panic. He has been a hardworking young man.
“He was involved in a very serious industrial accident which left him with PTSD. The risk of re-offending is low.”
Judge Graham Smith sentenced Teszner to 13 months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He was also disqualified from driving for two years.
Mr Smith told him: “We have seen the CCTV. It’s clear there was an altercation and people were picking up things to arm themselves with.
“The information we have gives support that he acted out of panic and the reason why was out of concern for the child. It’s not in any way to excuse your driving.
“You were driving after your son had been removed. Though this is very bad, it’s not the worst. It was a very serious offence.”