Delme Tangitutu pleads guilty to grievous bodily harm over road rage attack

A Gold Coast man ended up with nasty injuries after being punched repeatedly in a vicious road rage attack – all sparked by comments about two aspects of his attacker’s driving.

A GOLD Coast man was punched for more than a minute in a road rage incident at a Pimpama service station.

He was left with a broken nose, dislocated shoulder and a number of bruises after the incident on January 4 last year.

Delme Tangitutu pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court on Thursday to grievous bodily harm.

CCTV footage played to the court showed the victim pulling up at a petrol bowser and yelling at Tangitutu, who is off screen.

Tangitutu then comes into view and punches the man to the ground.

He kept punching until his wife came up and stopped him and the pair walked off.

A bystander repeatedly tried to stop Tangitutu but was unsuccessful.

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Prosecutor Kathleen Christopherson said the victim had been following Tangitutu prior to them both pulling into the service station.

She said he became angry after Tangitutu repeatedly hit his brakes and did not indicate to go into the service station.

The court was told the victim yelled at Tangitutu but made no physical move towards him and did not throw any punches.

Judge David Kent sentenced Tangitutu to two years prison to be released on parole on January 5 this year.

“You would not really describe it as a fight,” he said after the footage had been played.

Judge Kent commended the bystander for his efforts in trying to stop the attack.

Barrister James McNab said Tangitutu was an alcoholic who had been alcohol free for 17 years and had given up gambling 14 years ago.

He said since the incident Tangitutu had taken an anger management course.

Tangitutu is a New Zealand citizen and risks being deported at the end of his sentence.