Frenchs Forest road rage attacker Chances Moana a no-show at court for sentencing
The man convicted of punching a 63-year-old driver 15 times in a northern beaches’ road rage attack did not turn up to Manly Local Court on Wednesday to be sentenced.
Manly
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THE man convicted of punching a 63-year-old driver 15 times in a northern beaches’ road rage attack did not turn up to Manly Local Court on Wednesday to be sentenced.
Chances Moana, 20, has admitted bashing Andrew Nerlich as he sat behind the wheel of his car on Forest Way, Frenchs Forest in May.
But instead of fronting court to be sentenced on two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, Moana, who lives on the Central Coast, asked his solicitor to email a letter to court officials asking that the matter be dealt with at Wyong Local Court.
Just days after the attack on Mr Nerlich, Moana suffered life threatening injuries, including a punctured lung and ruptured spleen as well as a smashed pelvis and two broken knees, after falling from his motorcycle in Gosford.
The injuries meant that Moana could not turn up for a scheduled Manly court appearance last month where Magistrate Christopher Longley found him guilty of the assault charges.
The Manly Daily broke the story of the attack last month after dashcam vision was posted on social media.
Shocking footage, taken at the intersection of Forest Way and Adams St, showed Moana unleashing multiple blows on Mr Nerlich sitting behind the wheel of a Hyundai hatchback stopped at traffic lights.
The dashcam vision, captured from a B-double truck, showed Moana opening the door of the Hyundai and throwing a punch at the driver.
Just before the attack the cars were involved in a minor collision.
According to the police fact sheet tendered to the court, Mr Nerlich, a retiree and a martial arts instructor at a Manly gym, “blacked out” from the initial blow.
His left foot then slipped off the brake pedal and the car rolled forward into the ute, slowly pushing it towards the intersection of Forest Way and Adams St.
Moana then opened the victim’s door again before throwing multiple punches.
Mr Nerlich was left bleeding from an ear, his nose and a badly cut lip.
Moana admitted to the assault after turning himself in to police at Wyong the day after the attack.
In court on Wednesday Mr Longley said he had read an emailed letter from Wyong law firm, Kernick Law, asking that their client’s sentencing matter be heard at Wyong Local Court next week.
Mr Longley said the email advised that Moana had only been released from hospital on Tuesday.
Police prosecutor Sgt John Sharpin opposed having the offences dealt with away from Manly.
Mr Longley adjourned the matter to Manly Local Court for sentencing on August 8.