A road rage incident that unfolded in the drive-thru of a Glenorchy Hungry Jacks restaurant, where an irate driver used his vehicle to strike a man, has come before the Supreme Court.
Former security guard Dion Paul Wolf, then 35, was queued behind a man identified as Schneider waiting for his food when, for some reason, he became angry and started honking his horn on a Tuesday night in March 2022.
After receiving his order, Wolf, still honking, followed Schneider as they both left the drive-through onto Kensington Street.
In his passing comments on the sentence, Chief Justice Alan Blow said the men then “spoke unpleasantly to one another”, before an angry Schneider smashed Wolf’s driver’s side mirror and walked off.
Wolf then, in a fit of rage, “accelerated towards” Schneider and “drove into him from behind”, throwing him onto the bonnet of the car and across the road to the “other side of the street” – before yelling and driving off.
Schneider avoided serious injuries, which the Chief Justice said was “very fortunate” for Wolf, who “could very well be facing a manslaughter charge”.
“Mr Wolf was in a fragile emotional state on the day in question because of a previous road rage incident in which he was the victim,” the Chief Justice said.
“On that earlier occasion he was driving his vehicle when another vehicle rammed him from behind on several occasions, to the point of making him lose control. The aggressor on that occasion also pointed a firearm at him.”
Chief Justice Blow said Wolf had been grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder, marked by heightened anxiety, hypervigilance and panic episodes since the earlier incident.
But, he said Wolf took himself to the Glenorchy Police Station voluntarily “within about 30 minutes” following the incident as he was “very concerned about the way he had reacted”.
The Chief Justice said Wolf is living off Centrelink benefits, having previously worked in security, a service station and a fencing business and was seeking counselling for his drug and alcohol use.
“This was a very serious assault … It was the sort of crime that ordinarily results in imprisonment. However, because of Mr Wolf’s remorse, his psychological difficulties, the steps that he has taken to address those difficulties and the very fortunate lack of serious injuries, I do not think it would be fair to send him to prison,” the Chief Justice said.
Wolf received a six month prison sentence, suspended for two years with various conditions, as he was assessed as unsuitable for court-ordered community service and home detention.
