A man who drove at a traffic warden using his car as a “weapon” in a road rage incident has been sentenced to a hospital order.
Arthur McGhie, 54, targeted civil enforcement officer Steven Smith as he was driving home from work while still wearing his uniform on August 24, 2020.
Hove Crown Court heard how Mr Smith had attempted to give way to the defendant in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, but had only managed to anger him.
After the two drivers pulled over in Cants Lane, they got out of their cars and an argument followed over whose right of way it was.
The defendant then got back into his car and drove at Mr Smith before McGhie, of Cants Lane, Burgess Hill, got out of the vehicle again and attempted to punch him.
In a statement read to the court, Mr Smith, who suffered injuries to his back, said his mental health had been impacted.
He said he had difficulty sleeping and wakes up screaming, and also had anxiety about going out alone.
He said: “I am afraid I will never back to the person I once was.”
Mr Smith added: “Mr McGhie got in his car, reversed it around a corner, revved his engine and drove his car directly at me.
“I am not saying he woke up that morning and decided he wanted to kill someone, but how could anyone think his intentions in that moment were not clear.
“It’s my opinion that Mr McGhie is a very dangerous and unwell man who should be off the streets for a long time to get the help he needs.”
Psychiatrist Dr Karan Veer Singh told the court that McGhie suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and had suffered from delusions since he was a teenager living in Scotland that he was being persecuted by the police.
He added that McGhie’s mental health had worsened following the death of his partner.
Dr Singh added that, during the incident, McGhie believed the victim had been part of a group of police and members of the public who were harassing him.
Judge Christine Henson QC sentenced McGhie to a hospital order under the Mental Health Act and banned him from driving for the offences of attempting to cause GBH, dangerous driving, ABH and assault of an emergency worker.
She said: “You used your vehicle to strike the victim intending to cause him really serious harm.
“You used your vehicle as a weapon in circumstances where Mr Smith was very vulnerable as a pedestrian.
“While the injuries were thankfully minor, there has been a significant impact on Mr Smith’s mental health.”
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