A Porsche driver broke a man's leg in a fit of road rage on the hard shoulder of the M62. David Molloy cut in front of the other car prior to entering the motorway, seemingly leading to tense words being exchanged between the two men. Both then pulled up at the side of the live carriageway before the businessman launched a flurry of punches at the other motorist, causing him to fall and fracture his tibia.
Attack on the hard shoulder
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday afternoon that Peter McKevitt was driving his Nissan Navara on the Rainhill Stoops roundabout at junction seven of the M62 at around 9.30am on September 2 last year. Molloy was meanwhile travelling in his Porsche on the inside of the complainant before cutting in front of the other vehicle.
Derek Jones, prosecuting, described how Mr McKevitt beeped his horn as a result and subsequently pulled alongside the 51-year-old defendant, of Macclesfield Road in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, at a set of traffic lights, adding: "There were words between the both of them. They both then set off down the link road to the M62, Mr McKevitt in front, the defendant behind."
Dashcam footage thereafter showed Molloy pulling onto the hard shoulder and indicating for Mr McKevitt to do likewise. With the pickup truck having stopped in front of the Porsche, Mr Jones said of the victim: "His hands seem to be beside his side when he walks out of his car towards the defendant. The defendant was clearly angry. He appeared to be on the bounce. He got out of his car, walked towards Mr McKevitt and, very soon after, started punching Mr McKevitt. I counted around six punches to Mr McKevitt around the head area."
Injury and sentence
Mr McKevitt fell to the floor as a result of the assault before his assailant drove off onto the motorway. While he was only said to have suffered bruising to the back of his head from the punches, it was subsequently found that he had sustained a fractured tibia during the incident, an injury that led to surgery, a three-day stay in hospital and two weeks off work.
Molloy has seven previous convictions for 12 offences, but no appearances since 2006. Paul Becker, defending, told the court: "In my two meetings with Mr Molloy, he presents very differently to how he did on that footage. He is a successful businessman. He is the managing director of his company. They have 411 employees. The business does very well, with a quarter of a million pounds given to charity since covid. He is a family man."
Molloy admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent. Appearing suited in the dock, he was handed an 18-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days.
Judge's remarks
Sentencing, Judge Dennis Watson KC said: "For the last 20 years, you have built a very successful business with your brother and been a stranger to the courts, which is to your credit. However, on the 2nd of September last year, you appear to have been preoccupied with various things and overreacted to a motoring incident, if it can be called that, at a difficult, congested roundabout."
He added: "Rather than you just shrugging your shoulders and getting on with it, what you did was quite appalling really. Although he set off, you decided that confrontation was the way to go, which is most unlike you, certainly for the last 20 years. Not only that, as the two of you came together, there were quite a number of punches."
Molloy was also told to pay £1,000 in court costs and banned from driving for two months, with Judge Watson adding: "This is a road rage case. Your driving is gravely concerning. This may not be the longest piece of driving or the most dangerous piece of driving, but it is, nevertheless, aggression while behind the wheel."
