Craig Hatchard, 55, gives evidence after allegedly being twice run over by Shane Matherson at Thebarton scrap metal yard in 2021

A man allegedly run down by an angry customer has told a court of the terrifying moment the car struck him – then turned around and hit him again.

Craig Hatchard heard yelling and screaming as he lay on the road outside a Thebarton scrap metal yard, dazed after allegedly being run over by an angry customer. Seconds later, he was run down again, a court has heard.

Appearing in the District Court on Wednesday – giving evidence in the trial against Shane Anthony Matherson – the 55-year-old employee of Denron Metals said he had just engaged in a heated verbal altercation with the accused who had been denied entry and was refusing to leave.

Mr Hatchard then hit the windscreen of Mr Matherson’s van, causing it to crack before the van accelerated forward and he was subsequently pinned between the vehicle and a parked car on the side of the road.

“He was yelling at me (and) I was yelling at him to move because people wanted to get out, but he demanded he wasn’t going to move until he was allowed in. I went back (and) told my brother and he said ‘nup, don’t let him in if he’s being abusive’,” Mr Hatchard said.

“I returned out and I told him to move and he wouldn’t. I was standing in front of his car and I just like hit his windscreen and it cracked and with that, he just ran me down. I landed on my back, hit my head on the ground and then he continued up the road.

Police interview employees at the scrap metal yard in 2021. Picture: Emma Brasier

“I could hear yelling and screaming that he was turning around and coming back, and that was it. I don’t really remember a lot, because when I was run down the first time I hit my head hard on the bitumen and I was just dazed. I couldn’t remember much.

“I could feel his car, his right side clip my ear, sort of thing, and the rest of the car ran down my shoulder – down my arm. With that, I was just like still dazed and sore … in pain.”

Mr Matherson, 53, is standing trial before Judge Geraldine Davison without a jury, charged with endangering the life of Mr Hatchard on March 6, 2021.

The court was told that upon being alerted to the incident, Mr Hatchard’s brother Jamie Hatchard armed himself with a machete while a customer armed himself with an axe.

“One of the workers came back in and told me, ‘he’s just run over your brother’,” Mr Jamie Hatchard said.

“With that, I picked up the – I’ve got a machete in the office that I keep for security reasons – I picked that up and ran outside to see what was going on.

Police interview employees at the scrap metal yard in 2021. Picture: Emma Brasier

“I told someone to call an ambulance and to call the police. The person was coming back down the street, so we stood in the road to try and stop him. As we were standing – as the car was coming back down the road – we were hoping he was going to stop but as he got closer, he didn’t stop, and the closer he got to us he ended up swerving right.

“I’ve had to step back between the two parked vehicles and I’ve swung the machete out and smashed his windscreen as he’s gone past and (I) watched him run over my brother.”

On Tuesday, Peter Scragg, for Mr Matherson, told the court his client’s actions were that of a “distressed and panicked man who was trying to escape”.

“He was concerned that they (the employees) may try and block him and if he did stop his vehicle, he would be maliciously assaulted. He feared for his life at that point in time,” Mr Scragg said.

“He says he didn’t see Craig Hatchard lying on the road – he was focused quite understandably on his brother who was wielding a raised weapon.”

The trial continues on Thursday where Jamie Hatchard is expected to give further evidence.