A man who left an innocent “peacemaker” with devastating brain injuries after ramming him with his car following a street brawl has been jailed for 15 years at Teesside Crown Court.
Hugh Holmes, 36, drove at speed into the victim who had been trying to calm tensions during a violent confrontation in Ferryhill, County Durham, on 19 December last year. The attack occurred on the same day Holmes had been released from prison for a previous dangerous driving offence.
Judge Francis Laird KC heard how the incident began at approximately 14:45 GMT on Faraday Street when Holmes, who was banned from driving, passed James Cowie, 28, in a Renault Megane belonging to his partner. Holmes’ girlfriend took offence to a gesture made by someone in Cowie’s van, prompting Holmes to stop the vehicle and confront the group.
Holmes, of no fixed abode, immediately targeted Cowie, of Handel Terrace in Wheatley Hill, throwing the first punch. However, Cowie ducked and responded with a volley of punches, knocking Holmes to the ground where he continued the assault. Cowie then knocked out another man who was accompanying Holmes.
As a local resident emerged from his home to act as a “peacemaker” and calm the situation, Holmes ran back to the Megane and drove to the end of the street. He then turned the vehicle around and drove “at speed” back towards the group standing next to Cowie’s van, the court heard.
Whilst aiming for Cowie, Holmes missed his intended target but smashed into both Cowie’s van and the innocent resident. The impact threw the victim into the air, causing him to strike his head on the wheel arch of the Megane. Holmes fled on foot as a witness shouted that he had “killed” the victim.
The peacemaker suffered catastrophic injuries including a traumatic brain injury caused by bleeding in his skull, multiple fractures around his eye sockets, and other broken bones. He spent two weeks in a coma at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, followed by another fortnight of care before discharging himself.
In a powerful victim impact statement read to the court, the man revealed the profound effect of his injuries: “Every part of my life has changed. I feel half the man I used to be.” He described how he still lives in constant pain and that his life, behaviour, and thought processes had “changed beyond all recognition.
The court heard that Holmes had an extensive criminal record featuring 58 previous offences, including multiple counts of violence. Remarkably, he had been released from prison on the morning of the attack after serving time for causing serious injury by dangerous driving, for which he received a two-year-eight-month sentence in 2022.
Holmes was found guilty of wounding with intent and received a 15-year prison sentence with an additional three years on extended licence. He has also been banned from driving for 15 years and made subject to an indefinite restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim or entering Faraday Street.
James Cowie, who initiated the physical violence by punching Holmes to the ground, was jailed for eight months after admitting affray. The court recognised that whilst Cowie had engaged in the street fight, he was not responsible for the car attack that followed.
The case highlights the devastating consequences of street violence and the particular danger posed by offenders who resort to using vehicles as weapons. The victim, who had simply been trying to restore peace to his neighbourhood, now faces a lifetime of suffering due to Holmes’ reckless actions.
Judge Laird KC emphasised the severity of the offence, particularly given that Holmes had been released from prison that very morning for a similar dangerous driving offence. The extended licence period and lengthy driving ban reflect the court’s determination to protect the public from Holmes’ pattern of violent behaviour.
The tragic irony that an innocent peacemaker suffered the most severe injuries whilst the intended target escaped unharmed underscores the indiscriminate nature of such violent acts. The victim’s courage in attempting to defuse the situation was met with life-changing consequences that he continues to endure.
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