Road-rage van driver reversed into car on M1 at Wakefield during roadworks fury
An “infuriated” van driver smashed into a car after becoming impatient during speed-restricted roadworks on the M1.
Bed-mattress delivery worker Nadeem Ditta was angry at the motorist on the single-lane section on the motorway, so used his vehicle “as a weapon”, first slamming on his brakes so the car driver smashed into the back of him, then purposely ramming into the car.
The 37-year-old was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week.
The court was told that the victim had been heading northbound on the M1 at around 11.20pm on January 28.
Around the J39 area at Wakefield, the road was down to one lane due to the roadworks, with a 50mph limit in force.
The victim noticed Ditta’s van behind him, flashing his lights to urge the man to put his foot down, prosecutor Robert Galley said.
But once the roadworks ended, angry Ditta overtook the man, pulled back in front of him and then slammed on his brakes.
It gave the car driver little chance to react and he collided with the back of the van. But Ditta then purposely reversed into the car, before driving off.
The victim’s £13,000 car was left written off. Luckily, the incident was captured on the victim’s dashcam and the registration of the van allowed police to trace the culprit.
Ditta, whose address was given a Le Dolce Vita, The Combs, Thornhill, admitted dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident.
A probation report said that Ditta admitted it was “shocking behaviour”.
Mitigating, Nick Murphy said Ditta had no previous convictions so this was “out of character” and he said that was “regretful” for what took place.
He said he had been working as a delivery driver but was now unemployed and looking for a new job.
Judge Mushtaq Khokhar old Ditta: “You might have been in a hurry and you tailgated him for quite a while.
“It irritated you. There was no way the complainant could avoid that collision, and you would have known that given the distance between you.
“You used the vehicle as a weapon.”
He jailed Ditta for 15 months and gave him a 31-month driving ban.