A speeding driver who launched a sickening road rage attack on a Good Samaritan dad after he asked him to SLOW DOWN near a children’s play area has been jailed for 20 months.
Samuel Pagett, 25, floored ex-soldier, Paul Currie, 41, with a single punch which caused a massive blood clot on his brain and left him fighting for his life.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard the dad-of-six gestured at Pagett to kill his speed and shouted ‘you are going too fast’ when he saw his white 4×4 hurtling down a quiet residential street.
Mr Currie had been walking home at around 3pm along Newland Grove, Dudley, West Mids., after playing a darts match in a nearby pub on January 13 this year.
Blondelle Thompson, prosecuting, said Mr Currie had been concerned for the safety of local children, who often play football in the area, and waved his arms at the driver.
Pagett then stopped the vehicle abruptly before getting out of the driver’s seat and punching his victim in the head, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Mr Currie, a lorry driver, was rushed to hospital and put in an induced coma for three days following emergency surgery.
He lost his sense of taste and smell and has also suffered hearing loss and balance problems since the incident.
The car valeter previously pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm and was jailed last Tuesday.
Sentencing Pagett, from Kingswinford, West Mids., Judge Amjad Nawaz said: “These are life-changing injuries.
“I have not doubt that Mr Pagett did not foresee these consequences when he got out the car.”
Andrew Jackson, defending, said it was a “moment of madness” by his client and a jail term would mean his partner and their child losing their home in a matter of months.
Mr Jackson added the consequences of the punch were neither desired or foreseen.
He said: “All human beings behave stupidly at some stage in their lives and this was one of those occasions.”
Speaking outside court, Mr Currie’s family slammed the ‘lenient’ sentence handed down to Pagett.
Mum Mary Hill, 62, said a 20-month term was ‘outrageous and absolutely disgusting’.
She said: “He spent six years in the British Army serving in places like Northern Ireland, he came out unscathed and this happens to him.
“The night he underwent his brain surgery was the longest night of my life. I don’t think he will ever be able to return to work.
“He is going to suffer from problems for the rest of his life. Where is the justice in a 20 month prison sentence. He will probably be out in a few months.”
Stepdad Malcolm Hill, 68, added: “We thought Pagett would get at least five years for what he did.”
