Dylan Selwyn avoids jail for headbutting passenger intervening in driver assault

The tradie headbutted a good Samaritan who intervened after he abused a night-time bus driver and punched his protection screen. Find out what happened in court.

A father-of-two has avoided going to jail after he drunkenly headbutted a good Samaritan who intervened to stop him abusing a bus driver.

Dylan Selwyn, 28, changed his plea when he appeared in Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday.

The Bexley man was due to defend the charges at a hearing later this month but pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intimidation.

Agreed facts tendered to court said Selwyn got on a night rider bus about 3.55am in January last year at the Rockdale bus interchange.

He did not tap his Opal card to pay for his fare. When the bus driver questioned Selwyn, he became aggressive, screamed and shouted.

Dylan Selwyn was sentenced to an intensive correction order for being intoxicated and punching a bus driver’s screen and then head butting a member of the public who intervened. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

The documents said Selwyn punched the driver’s protection screen with a closed fist twice and called him a “dog” before he pulled at the doors and said, “I’ll break your f****** door”.

Selwyn hit the screen a further two times before a passenger intervened.

The man seated at the rear of the bus spoke up in defence of the driver which prompted Selwyn to approach him.

The man told Selwyn to pay his fare or get off the bus, which angered Selwyn and he stood over the man and headbutted him in a smooth motion, the documents said.

This caused a laceration to the man’s head and blood to pour out before Selwyn left the bus.

The man attended Hurstville Police Station to report the incident and went to the hospital for stitches, the documents said.

Police viewed CCTV of the incident and identified Selwyn from previous interactions and distinctive tattoos.

He was later charged.

In court on Tuesday, Selwyn’s lawyer Mr Harb submitted the seriousness of the incident fell below the middle of the range for both charges because the degree of violence was limited because it was not an ongoing, sustained attack nor were there multiple blows.

Mr Harb said Selwyn had a partner who did not work, along with two children, while he also supported his mother.

He said his client worked in the construction industry but had reduced work and income since the pandemic.

The court also heard Selwyn was a recreational cannabis user and had been heavily intoxicated on the night.

Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson said there was “no excuse” for Selwyn to act the way he did that night because he got drunk, upset and overreacted.

She said the bus driver and other passengers were vulnerable people and noted they would have been terrified by the “savage attack”.

“The driver was doing his job and you punched the screen, but not the driver himself, but the screen was very close to the driver,” she said.

“He was getting people home and what you did was terrible. It must have been quite bad for a member of the public to intervene. Most people are too scared and keep their heads down.

“You headbutted the man and he had to get five stitches. It is appalling behaviour.”

Magistrate Atkinson said she had no other option than to impose a jail sentence to be served in the community because of the nature of the incident.

She took into account that Selwyn had a limited record for violence.

Selwyn was placed on an intensive correction order for eight months where he must undertake 50 hours of community service, anger management and substance abuse courses, and be abstinent from drugs and alcohol.