Woman faces jail for revenge attack on cyclist

A pregnant woman who deliberately drove at a cyclist to send him hurtling into a tree wept as she was locked up today (Tues).

Justine Henshaw-Bryan, 25, rear-ended Damien Doughty, 38, after he told her off for using her mobile phone at the wheel.

Mr Doughty was sent flying into a tree on Victorian Grove, Stoke Newington, north London, and ended up in intensive care with a lacerated liver and fractured ribs.

Henshaw-Bryan was at the wheel of her boyfriend’s Ford Fiesta and chased Mr Doughty when he kicked the wing mirror for telling him to ‘f*ck off’ and gave him the middle finger.

Mr Doughty, who on his way home from a meditation session, said: ‘[I was] Exceptionally scared. You can hear the engine revving really close to you.

‘I remember the car rear ending me, kind of letting out a scream and realising what was happening.

‘I crumbled into a heap on the floor, and I am in extreme amounts of pain. And fully aware that the car is long gone.’

Henshaw-Bryan claimed her then boyfriend Aaron Hall, who was in the passenger’s seat, grabbed the wheel and aimed at Mr Doughty.

But she was today [Tues] convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving by a jury of seven men and five women at Wood Green Crown Court after a four day trial.

Henshaw-Bryan, who is three months pregnant, now faces a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment as well as a driving ban.

She was remanded into custody ahead of sentence tomorrow.

Henshaw-Bryan wept in the dock as the jury’s verdict was read out and turned to wave to her mother as she was led to the cells.

Mr Doughty admitted kicking the wing mirror because he was angry at Henshaw-Bryan swearing at him.

But Henshaw-Bryan insisted Mr Hall ‘ordered’ her to follow the victim before grabbing the wheel and aiming at Mr Doughty.

Mr Hall had a previous conviction for common assault on another former girlfriend and had been cautioned for assauting Henshaw-Bryan, the court heard.

Henshaw-Bryan denied she was talking on her mobile phone at the time of the incident at around 9pm on 10 February last year.

She told the court: ‘Mr Doughty was on my right – he was taking an extremely long time to cross in front of me so I shushed him across the road with my hand.

‘He got a bit annoyed at that and he came up on my side and said something.’

She said Mr Hall had been lying with the seat in the fully reclined position and hadn’t seen the exchange between her and the victim, but became enraged when Mr Doughty kicked the wing mirror.

‘He said “what the f*ck was that?” I told him it was a cyclist so he said “catch up with him, get him” so I followed.

‘He ordered me. He ordered me to follow him.

‘I couldn’t see the cyclist because Aaron’s body was turned so his back was towards the window and the cyclist was on the left hand side of the car.’

‘Aaron said “lick him down”.’

David Rhodes, for Henshaw-Byan, said: ‘Did you do anything to cause harm to that cyclist?

‘No,’ she replied.

‘Aaron grabbed the wheel. He reached out with his right hand and grabbed the wheel.

Asked why she hadn’t stopped when she saw the cyclist on the pavement, she replied: ‘Because Aaron told me not too and I was scared to him. Aaron just wanted to get away and he was more than happy that revenge had been given.’

The car was traced back to Mr Hall’s grandmother’s address, and he forced Henshaw-Bryan to hand herself in because his previous girlfriend – the only woman on the insurance – was being questioned by police.

Giving evidence Mr Hall admitted telling Henshaw-Bryan to follow the cyclist, but only to confront him about the damage to the wing mirror and to try and get him to pay for it.

He denied grabbing the wheel and was not charged with any offence.

Nigel May, prosecuting, accused Henshaw-Bryan of ‘saying absolutely anything to save your own skin’.

Henshaw-Bryan, of Lister Court, Yoakley Road, Hackney, denied was convicted of one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

She will be sentenced tomorrow at 2pm.
ENDS