Mick Collins left shaken after being “rammed” by car while crossing Portarlington road

A Portarlington grandfather who was allegedly rammed by an abusive driver while on his mobility scooter has called for motorists to be vigilant.

Mick Collins was riding his mobility scooter when he was rammed and abused by a driver in Portarlington. Picture: Brad Fleet

A Portarlington grandfather who was allegedly rammed by an abusive driver while on his mobility scooter has called for motorists to be vigilant.

Mick Collins said he was travelling home from the Portarlington Pier about 11.30am on Monday when an irate allegedly driver told him to “get off the f---ing road”.

The 59-year-old said he was crossing the road at the intersection of Fenwick and Brown streets when he spotted a white Audi A3 about 200m away.

Mr Collins said he was halfway across the road when the male driver of the car allegedly sped up and stopped right in front of him.

“Then he started hurling abuse at me … he told me to ‘get off the f---ing road’,” he said.

“I’m deaf so I was reading his lips and then he stuck the bird up at me.”

13-06-2023 Mick Collins was riding his mobility scooter when he was rammed and abused by a driver in Portarlington. Picture: Brad Fleet

Mr Collins said he then stepped off his mobility scooter to speak to the driver of the Audi.

“But I didn’t get one step near him and then he rammed me,” he said.

“I had to jump out of the way.

“If I had stayed on my scooter he would have run over me, it was a massive crunch.”

Mr Collins said the driver then “sped off”.

“He was probably sh--ting himself because he left the scene of an accident,” he said.

Mr Collins said then had to walk more than a kilometre back to his home while pushing the scooter as it was damaged and was running low on battery.

He said he uses the mobility scooter to get around as he has knee issues and recently finished physio rehabilitation.

“I’m sore today … my whole back, my shoulders and my knee are sore,” he said.

Mr Collins reported the matter to police on Tuesday morning.

“They are going try and find some CCTV,” he said.

“There must be other cars that have seen him … too many people saw it but very few put their hand up these days.”

Senior Rights Victoria chief executive Chris Potaris said any incident of violence against an older person in Victoria was “abhorrent and one too many.”

“Every older person living in our state has the basic human right to feel safe within their home, and in their community,” he said.

“The community has every right to feel outraged at acts of violence against, vulnerable, physically unwell, and frail older people who are in the latter stages of their lives.”

Originally published as Mick Collins left shaken after being “rammed” by car while crossing Portarlington road