Driver who CRASHED his car into brawling punters outside pub after fight broke out when two women started arguing is banned from driving
- CCTV footage shows a ‘panicked’ driver reverse into people outside a pub
- Mason Coray made a ‘foolish decision’ by trying to drive away from a brawl
- No one was seriously hurt and Coray received a suspended jail term and curfew
CCTV footage caught the moment a ‘panicking’ man reversed his car into a group of pub drinkers who were fighting in the car park.
A scrap began to occur outside the back of Bryncae Arms, Llanharan, Wales, which caused an anxious Mason Coray to reverse into at least two people as he tried to flee.
Coray, who had been banned from driving just four months earlier, got behind the wheel of his Audi Q2 on July 8.
The 24-year-old injured two men, Ben Gayle and Ashley Webber, with an open passenger door as they attempted to break up a brawl.
He also appeared to knock down a woman, Cardiff Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Meirion Davies told the court: ‘Special constable Rhys Taylor was off duty and enjoying the premises’ hospitality with his wife when he saw the car being parked.
‘A short time later he heard the sound of females arguing and describes one of the females as having been a passenger in the car.
‘The girls became involved in a scrap and males started fighting near the passenger side of the Audi. It’s not suggested that this defendant is one of those males.
‘While this was going on around the car, the defendant reversed three to four metres. The passenger door was open and struck either Mr Webber or Mr Gayle. The other was then knocked to the floor.’
The court heard that Coray also appeared to knock down an unknown woman.
Mr Taylor ran to the car and opened the driver’s door while Coray was attempting to drive away.
He grabbed hold of Coray and shouted: ‘Get out of the f***ing car.’ Mr Taylor identified himself as a police special but Coray replied: ‘No you’re not, show me your badge.’
The special constable forcibly restrained Coray on the floor before colleagues arrived.
Mason Coray was given a suspended sentence for trying to drive off from a pub brawl and reversing into at least two people (pictured)
Mr Gayle and Mr Webber said they had been trying to break up a fight when they were hit by the car. They were both bruised and one suffered a sprained ankle. ‘The men got away luckily without suffering a more serious injury,’ said the prosecutor.
Coray, of Clos Glas Llwch in Trowbridge, Cardiff, was sentenced in court on Monday after admitting dangerous driving, two counts of causing actual bodily harm (ABH), and driving while banned and without insurance. He had been disqualified in March for drink-driving.
The defendant, who has cystic fibrosis and Crohn’s disease, had got the car through the Motability scheme because of his disability.
His lawyer Matthew Thomas said driving while banned was a ‘very foolish decision’, adding: ‘He didn’t get involved and initially protected himself by shutting the car door. He initially reversed slowly then sped up towards the end.’
Mr Thomas said Coray’s lips had been ‘going a funny colour’ as he was restrained, so the special constable released him. Coray could easily have then left the scene but he waited for police to arrive and arrest him, staying to ‘face the music’, Mr Thomas added.
The lawyer described Coray as ‘an immature 24-year-old’ who cannot read or write, having missed out on much of his schooling due to illness.
He said the judge should not class the car as a ‘weapon’ because ‘there would have to be an intention behind it rather than a panic from the defendant to get away from the scene’.
The judge, Recorder Robin Rouch, accepted that Coray had panicked and reversed as they were unable to go forward due to a wall.
Recorder Rouch accepted that Coray was immature for his age and remorseful. He imposed a 30-week jail term suspended for 18 months and a two-month curfew between 8pm and 7am.
The judge also banned Coray from driving for 14 months and handed him a £187 victim services surcharge.
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