An army veteran who tracked down a 13-year-old boy in his car and deliberately sent him "flying through the air" after steering onto the cyclist's path has been jailed. James Bowdly maliciously pursued the youngster after he had been involved in a petty argument with his teenage daughter, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The schoolboy was left with severe injuries after he tried to dodge the vehicle while riding his electric bike but the uncontrollable motorist got out of the driver's seat and continued to physically assault him. Liverpool Crown Court heard the victim had "some sort of childish falling out" with the defendant's daughter on April 17 last year after she had been "teasing" him.
The boy had then tripped her up causing her some minor grazes and damaging her smartphone. That evening, the teen received a phone call from the girl's mobile and picked up to discover Bowdley on the other end who warned him: "You little s***, wait until I see you."
At around 8pm, he was riding his e-bike along Vyner Road South in Oxton, Wirral, with his cousin as a passenger when he noticed Bowdly's grey Kia Sportage approaching from the other direction. The furious father "slammed on his brakes" and swerved into the teenager's lane with one witness describing the boy as ''flying through the air''.
The victim fell off his scooter while avoiding contact and broke his leg leg as a result along with fractures to his tibia and fibula. Bowdley, of Sandstone Rise in Oxton, then got out of the car and grabbed him by the lapels of his coat before dropping him to the ground.
The 39-year-old began walking back to his car but then turned back around to aggressively pick the boy up once more and warned him to ''stay away from his daughter'. He then drove away in his vehicle in the direction of Upton Road.
Bowdley was found guilty of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and assault by a jury and returned to the court to be sentenced on November 18. A statement read out on behalf of the victims father described how the aspiring ski instructor teen has been left unable to take to the slopes or play football with his pals since he was attacked.
He lost 3cm of shin bone as a result of his injuries and is only now nearing a full recovery after being left in "excruciating pain" and with permanent scars. The traumatised boy's mother also had to take six months of unpaid leave from work to care for her son after the attack left him suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The statement added: "He has struggled to come to terms with what happened to him. He feels angry and frustrated. He has suffered nightmares. He is less confident and more anxious."
Nick Cockrell, defending, urged the court to pass a suspended prison term on Mr Bowdley - whom he argued had an "exemplary record" in the armed forces and had shown "genuine remorse". Mr Cockrell added: "He is by all accounts a caring son, a loving husband and a doting father."
However, Bowdley was found to have two previous convictions for three offences and was jailed for two years. He also received a driving ban for three years and must pass an extended retest as well as being ordered to pay for a victim surcharge.
Judge Denis Watson KC sentencing the defendant said: "There is one reason he came off that scooter, and that is because of your driving. His ability to carry out normal teenage day to day activities - running and playing with his pals - and his love of football and skiing have all been impacted.
"You were seeking out confrontation with someone who was a child. You have a different side to you to the man who was driving on April 17 last year.
"I have come to the conclusion that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
