Serial crim, Damian Jon Buck, 36, sentenced for Kuranda Range road rage attack

A Cairns court has heard how, in an extreme act of Kuranda Range road rage, a man exited his vehicle while it was in reverse causing it to total another car while he punched its driver in the face.

Generic pic of a motorist inside his car as he shakes his fist at passing vehicles.

In an extreme act of road rage, a man left his vehicle while it was in reverse on the notorious Kuranda Range causing it to total another car while he punched the driver in the face, a court has heard.

Damian Jon Buck, 36, the son of a cattle farming family on the Tablelands, was convicted of one charge of assault occasioning bodily harm and one count of driving without due care for the Boxing Day attack in 2023 at the bottom of the Kuranda Range road.

Police prosecutor Claudia Verwey said after an unrelated incident on the range, Buck stopped his HiLux ute at a set of lights in front of the other driver.

“The defendant attempted to put his vehicle in park however he accidentally put it into reverse and exited the vehicle,” she said.

“That’s when his vehicle has smashed into the victim’s vehicle.”

Ms Verwey said the damage from the collision was quoted at $10,214 to fix, leaving the car “totalled”.

The court heard, as this happened, Buck approached the open driver’s side window of the victim.

Damian Buck, 36, was convicted of assault causing bodily harm and driving without due care after punching a man in the face in an act of 'road rage'. Photo: Facebook

“He swings at the victim several times with his fist, one punch connected with the victim’s mouth,” Ms Verwey said.

The victim was left with a laceration to his lip and damage to his tooth which caused ongoing pain requiring specialist treatment to the cost of just under $1500.

Ms Verwey said Buck was on parole at the time of the attack and had an “extensive and serious” criminal history.

“He has a six-page criminal history with like offending,” she said.

The court heard he had offended previously while on parole and has had multiple convictions.

Magistrate Jakub Lodziak said he hasn’t stopped offending since 2016.

Damian Buck, 36, was convicted of assault causing bodily harm and driving without due care after punching a man in the face in an act of 'road rage'. Photo: Facebook

“He is currently subject to an almost 10 year sentence and we are about to make that longer.”

Ms Verwey said he had an eight page traffic history with 26 convictions for speeding, four for dangerous driving and two convictions related to traffic crashes.

Buck’s lawyer Tom Eckersley said he could not “shy away” from the fact he had a serious criminal history, but said what they were dealing with was “a single punch to the mouth”.

Mr Eckersley said his client on his release intended to return to his family’s cattle station near Mt Garnet and submitted it would be difficult to pay full restitution to the victim due to being incarcerated.

Magistrate Lodziak sentenced Buck to nine months imprisonment with a parole eligibility date of the date of sentence taking into account time he has already served and the totality of his ongoing sentence he is already serving.

Buck was ordered to pay $1458 restitution for medical costs to the victim.

Originally published as Serial crim, Damian Jon Buck, 36, sentenced for Kuranda Range road rage attack