Shocking video footage shows the moment an angry lorry driver pushed a pensioner over in a road rage incident.
Mark King saw red when Robert Venus, 78, merged into his lane on the A2 and clipped his lorry’s wing mirror near Gravesend in Kent.
The pensioner exits his vehicle on the busy motorway to approach the lorry when its driver shoves him to the ground.
Mr Venus injured his back after falling into his open car door and later had to go to hospital.
King, 63, has now been fined more than £400 in court after admitting to assault.
Medway Magistrates’ Court heard King had been sitting in a long line of traffic in January this year due to roadworks which caused three lanes to funnel into one.
Mr Venus indicated to get into his lane but clipped his wing mirror as he moved over.
In dashcam footage taken from King’s lorry, the angry driver is heard using his horn before shouting and swearing at Mr Venus from his vehicle.
He then gets out to confront the elderly driver.
The court heard Mr Venus had also exited his vehicle and, following a brief exchange, King is seen pushing him with both hands.
The pensioner loses his footing and stumbles back into the open door of his black pickup truck.
Prosecutor Rajni Prashar said: ‘There was slow-moving traffic and his artic [lorry] vehicle was in lane three.
‘There was a gap and Mr Venus indicated to the driver of the vehicle he was moving into the lane in front of him.’
Miss Prashar added that though Mr Venus had clipped King’s wing mirror, there was no damage to the lorry.
‘It was then the victim stepped out of his vehicle,’ she continued.
‘[After being pushed], Mr Venus fell back and almost missed the car door… [he] was injured.’
Mr Venus suffered sharp pain from the impact and had to take painkillers and visit hospital due to his injuries.
He has also found it difficult to sleep since the incident, the court heard.
King, from Polgate in East Sussex, admitted assaulting Mr Venus, with the offence aggravated by the fact his victim was elderly and vulnerable.
Lewis Holloway, defending, told the court his client regretted what had happened.
‘[King] was not very happy that particular evening and he had let a number of people in the lane,’ he said.
‘Mr Venus tried to get in and [King] carried on driving, but Mr Venus then swerved into the lane at an angle and hit [King’s] vehicle.
‘[King] got out and pushed him. He should not have done it, but I think it can be dealt with by way of a conditional discharge or a fine; it was simply a push.’
Mr Holloway added that King had no previous convictions for violence and that he was not working when he appeared in court last month.
Magistrates told King his actions were unnecessary and fined him £120 for the offence.
He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £48 and £85 court costs.
King was additionally ordered to pay Mr Venus £150 compensation.
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Emily Cooper
