Pedestrian dived from path of speeding pick-up truck in Pontefract after heated words

Kevin Ferguson “deliberately” drove at the man after a heated exchange on a Pontefract street, Leeds Crown Court was told.

The 56-year-old admitted a charge of dangerous driving. Prosecutor Erin Kitson-Parker said there had been a previous falling out between Ferguson and the man.

On July 1, 2022, the victim had been in Pontefract with his 14-month-old son and friends when he saw Ferguson’s truck. They were walking along Love Lane and St Giles Avenue when they heard Ferguson shout: “If you have got anything to say, don’t mumble it.”

Fearing something was going to happen, the man handed his baby to another person. But as he began to cross the street, he heard Ferguson’s engine revving and he began accelerating and swerving towards him.

He was forced to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. Ferguson then got out and and began remonstrating with him. He told the man: “If I wanted to run you over, I will run you over” He told him to “f*** off” and warned him not to contact the police.

Ferguson, of Chequerfield Road, Pontefract, was later interviewed by police and told them he was not driving at speed. He was shown CCTV footage of the incident and still claimed he was not swerving towards the man.

If you’d like to receive more stories like this and the latest news from Leeds, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter

No mitigation was offered by his barrister after Judge Kate Rayfield said she would not jail him.

But she told Ferguson: “This could have ended very differently, and you could have been facing a much longer sentence for a very different type of criminal offence.

“It was a deliberate manoeuvre, I accept it was a moment of madness.”

She gave him a 12-month community order, 150 hours of unpaid work and banned him from driving for 12 months. He must take an extended driving test to get his licence back.