The dad arranged to meet another man to “resolve it amicably” after his son was allegedly bullied but instead ran him over with his car
Bryan Southern, of Chiltern Road in St Helens, aged 55(Image: Merseyside Police)
A dad-of-six “lost it” outside Taco Bell and ran over another man with his car. Bryan Southern arranged to meet with another dad, whose sons had allegedly been bullying his own child, in order to “resolve it amicably”.
But the meeting instead descended into violence, with Southern apparently being knocked unconscious before he got behind the wheel of his car and drove it directly at his victim, crashing into a lamppost before having a “second go” at him. Having gone “from nought to 60 in a matter of seconds”, he was told that it was “pure luck” that he did not cause any serious injuries during the incident.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Thursday, that Southern, of Chiltern Road in St Helens, arrived at the scene, in the car park beside the drive thru branch of Taco Bell in Kirkby, at around 12.30pm on July 20 this year, with complainant Andrew Sanders arriving shortly thereafter in his own vehicle. The 55-year-old was then said to have confronted the other man but been “knocked to the ground”.
Christopher Hopkins, prosecuting, described how Mr Sanders went on to “produce a hammer from the boot of his car” before being hit himself. The two mens sons were meanwhile said to have made attempts to smash the wing mirrors of either car.
Mr Hopkins added: “The defendant will say that his son was the victim of bullying by Mr Sanders’ sons. The crown accept that the defendant genuinely perceived his son to be the victim of whatever happened. That is the background to this, and no doubt why he went to the scene. To be blunt, the defendant lost it.
“The crown would describe that it was all pretty much 50/50. There was a fight going on, in short, before the defendant decided to get in his car. Almost immediately, he drove at speed at Mr Sanders, running him over.
“He almost pinned him under one of the front wheels of his car. The defendant then reversed and had a second go, either at Mr Sanders or his son. He could have really easily caused serious harm. The fact that he did not is, the prosecution say, by pure chance.”
CCTV footage of the attack showed Southern’s car only being halted when it crashed into a lamppost, ripping the front bumper off, after sending Mr Sanders sprawling to the floor, leaving him with abrasions to his legs. Having left the scene, he was later found in the County Road area but failed to stop for police.
Travelling at 50mph in a 30mph zone, he was said to have travelled through two sets of red lights before pulling over.
Matthew O’Neill, defending, told the court: “There have been ongoing incidents of bullying by the victim’s son towards the defendant’s son. He has showed me a video clip this morning, a video that had been passed onto social media, showing his young son being assaulted by one of these youths.
“It does not show which individual it is [who committed the assault], but it is certainly an extremely unpleasant incident for a father to see. The defendant got to a point that, when this incident took place, when he had arranged to meet the complainant to resolve it amicably, it clearly went from nought to 60 in a matter of seconds.
“The victim strikes the defendant. He falls to the floor. He had lost consciousness for a very short period of time. He has said to me that the effects of that punch, the emotion going through his mind and what had been going on led him into the very serious position and wrong decision to get behind the wheel of his car and drive towards the victim. Very fortunately, serious injury was avoided.
“Although there was background to this incident, he is somebody who has shown a level of remorse.
“His family have been a great support him. He knows that his actions on that day will have far reaching effects on his partner and six children.
“I understand that the difficulties his son was having have quietened down. He was a working man until the day of his arrest, working in construction. Although there were earlier convictions, there was a period of 18 years where he was a devoted father and a hard working individual.”
Southern admitted attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm with intent and dangerous driving. Appearing in the dock wearing a navy blue suit, he was jailed for 30 months.
Sentencing, Judge Stuart Driver KC said: “You deliberately drove your car at the other man. The film shows us that he was knocked down, so that part of his body was under the front of your car.
“You did not stop your car. It was stopped because it collided with a lamppost, which caused your bumper to be dislodged. You reversed and drove forward aggressively for a second time.
“After you left the scene, the police requested for you to stop. You ignored them and caused a short chase at speed, during which you travelled through two sets of red lights.
“You were involved in a fist fight with a man. You got back into your car intending to use it as a weapon. You drove it into him, causing him to be under the front of your vehicle. The car was stopped because it collided with that lamppost, otherwise you would have driven over him.
“There are aggravating features. You are not of previous good character. On the other hand, there are mitigating features. Thankfully, no serious injury was caused. That is lucky for the victim and also lucky for you, because it allows me to reduce the sentence.
“There was also a significant degree of provocation. You genuinely believed that your son had been the victim of very nasty bullying by the complainant’s sons. That was the cause of the argument. I have read references that speak highly of the other side of your character.”
Southern was also disqualified from driving for three years and three months. He reacted to his sentencing by replying “thank you, your honour” before turning and giving a thumbs up to the public gallery, where his family members sat in tears.