John Peiter Westra pleads guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle, assault occasioning bodily harm

An Oakey man was mowing his lawn when his neighbour unleashed on him with a vehicle causing serious injuries, a Toowoomba court has heard.

An Oakey man has faced court for running down his neighbour when attempting to move a car by pushing it with another vehicle.

John Peiter Westra appeared in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle and assault occasioning bodily harm.

The 43-year-old was at home in Oakey on December 6, 2021, when about 7pm he attempted to move a car that was parked on his neighbour’s lawn by pushing it with his own vehicle.

The court was told in the process of this manoeuvre Westra drove backward, lost control of his vehicle then drove forward, again losing control of his vehicle and crashed into his neighbour who was mowing his lawn at the time.

John Peiter Westra, 43, faced Toowoomba Magistrates Court on July 26, 2022, where he pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle and assault occasioning bodily harm.

After the collision, rather than stopped to check on the victim, the court was told Westra drove off from the scene.

The victim suffered a shoulder sprain, rib injuries and was concussed as a result of the incident, which saw him taken to hospital.

Westra’s solicitor Phil Stainton said his client was shaken by the collision, and that he had a history of mental health issues, including paranoid schizophrenia, major depression and intellectual literacy problems.

Now living on a rural property near Kingaroy, Mr Stainton said his client would be reliant on his wife for transport.

Magistrate Kay Philipson said Westra’s reckless driving meant that actual bodily harm would have been foreseeable, but accepted that the incident caused him some distress.

Westra was sentenced to six months jail, entirely suspended for 18 months, and disqualified from driving for six months.