Scott Murrell guilty of dangerous driving in road rage chase
A brickie’s road rage led him to pursue and tailgate a motorcyclist from Drysdale to Moolap, with the victim left with broken bones after crashing his bike - never to ride again.
A brickie has faced court after chasing a motorcyclist from Drysdale to Moolap in a “horrendous” display of road rage.
Scott Murrell, 54, appeared in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.
Murrell had been set to contest nine charges at a hearing before accepting an offer from the prosecution to plead to the single charge.
Police prosecutor Acting-Sergeant Craig Williams told the court that on November 20 last year, Murrell chased a motorcyclist on Portarlington Rd from Drysdale to Moolap, just after 6am.
Murrell wove between traffic, tailgated the victim and aggressively overtook other vehicles in order to catch up to the rider.
The chase ended when the tray of the ute collected the front wheel of the victim’s bike.
The victim crashed and Murrell sped off. The victim sustained injuries that included fractures to his shoulder and thumb and a bruised kidney.
In a victim impact statement Sergeant Williams read to the court, the victim said he would “never ride a motorcycle again”, struggled to sleep and suffered nightmares when he did.
Since the accident, he’d “become quite an angry person” and felt always on edge.
“I have even gone as far as to make a suicide plan, I have sought help for these feelings,” the victim wrote.
When it came time for defence submissions, Magistrate Kimberley Swadesir asked what could have prompted the father-of-seven’s actions.
His lawyer told the court a “verbal altercation” had occurred, but Murrell had expressed regret to her, and “indicated he should have left it alone”.
The chase was “just foolishness” on Murrell’s part, the lawyer said.
She said it was conceded it was an example of dangerous driving “on the higher end” but she said Murrell did not have any driving priors and had voluntarily come forward to Crimestoppers.
The court heard that police did not allege Murrell was “aware” of the accident, as part of the resolution becasue they didn’t believe they could prove that element beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court heard Murrell took medication for his ADHD every morning, but it took a while to “kick in” and in the meantime his emotional regulation was affected.
Murrell’s lawyer asked the court to consider a community corrections order (CCO) for Murrell, who was supported in court by his partner, parents and brother.
Murrell’s bid for a CCO was almost derailed when he appeared to acknowledge “nudging” the victim’s bike during his suitability assessment, a remark Ms Swadesir found concerning.
“The prosecution have put the charge that it’s not aggravated by the fact that Mr Murrell knew that he hit the motorbike,” Ms Swadesir said.
“This report seems to go beyond that, (it) seems to open the charges up again, doesn’t it?”
The prosecution did not press the matter, and Mr Murrell was sentenced as per the plea agreement.
He was convicted and placed on an 18-month CCO including 100 hours of community work.
Ms Swadesir highlighted the “horrendous” impact on the victim and said Murrell needed education about road safety.
Murrell’s driving was so dangerous Ms Swadesir doubled the mandatory licence loss and handed him a 12-month ban from the road.
Originally published as Scott Murrell guilty of dangerous driving in road rage chase
