Police review dash-cam footage believed to show moment man fell in front of truck during fatal road rage incident
TAMATE Heke was due to be married next week but is instead behind bars, charged with murdering a fellow driver in an horrific road rage incident.
A MAN charged with murder over a deadly road-rage incident allegedly told police the victim tailgated him, made rude gestures and mirrored his lane changes as he tried to get away before a confrontation unfolded.
Tamate Henry Heke, 36, was due to be married next week but is instead behind bars, charged with assaulting 50-year-old Shane Merrigan and causing him to fall into the path of a garbage truck.
The Courier-Mail understands Heke has told police Mr Merrigan tailgated him down the Gateway Motorway on Tuesday afternoon while making rude gestures, following him as he changed lanes.
Heke allegedly told police Mr Merrigan pulled over in front of him, so he got out of his car to see what he wanted.
He alleges Mr Merrigan then got physical.
During the altercation, Mr Merrigan ended up in the path of the oncoming truck, allegedly after being punched or pushed, and was struck.
Heke’s fiancee looked on as he briefly faced the Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday charged with murder.
The storeman, who is in Australia on a working visa, kept his head down as the case was adjourned to next month.
Heke’s solicitor Adam Magill, of Lawler Magill Criminal Lawyers, said outside court his client, who has virtually no criminal history, was devastated.
“He was going to get married back home in New Zealand,” Mr Magill said. “His family is just devastated.”
Mr Magill said he would try and lodge a bail application in the Brisbane Supreme Court as soon as possible, but it was likely Heke would be behind bars until after Christmas.
Friends of Mr Merrigan said he was a father of four who had left behind a devastated family.
“He was a happy guy. He was adored by his partner and his children,” one friend said. “It’s not something I would have thought he would be involved in.”
Originally published as Police review dash-cam footage believed to show moment man fell in front of truck during fatal road rage incident