Sydney motorcyclist ‘rammed in road rage’

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A Sydney motorcyclist heard a “roar” and then felt a car deliberately crash into him during an alleged road rage incident, he has told a court. 

Daniel Baptista described the unfolding fight between him and Glen Anthony Eaves on the road in Breakfast Point at night on March 20, 2020.

Eaves, 59, who has pleaded not guilty to driving furiously, predatory driving and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, faced a hearing in Burwood Local Court on Wednesday. 

Mr Baptista’s girlfriend had been double-parked on the street when Eaves drove up behind “beeping hard” before pulling up beside her and “aggressively screaming,” the court was told. 

“Get the f*** out of my way,” Mr Baptista heard the Mortlake man yell before he rode his motorcycle up to find out “what’s the problem?”

Eaves smelled “drunk,” appeared red in the face in a state of “rage” and tried to grab at him, before speeding off, he said. 

As it was the same route Mr Baptista said he usually took home, he followed along with another friend in a ute behind. 

But after about 100 metres Eaves stopped his car in the middle of the road and walked back to the biker, pushing him in the chest. 

“I said bro don’t touch me, you’re drunk, it’s not a good idea,” he said. 

After he was pushed a second time Mr Baptista slapped him in the face with an open palm.

“I think being so drunk his legs wobbled.”

Eaves went to sit down when Mr Baptista placed his hand firmly on his shoulder and told him to “stay down,” before riding away. 

A few minutes later the motorcyclist slowed down for a roundabout when he heard a “roaring noise”.

As he looked in the mirror he saw headlights and felt something crashing into him from behind.

“I flew off and felt my body land in the gutter.”

The car continued dragging the motorbike before U-turning and driving away. 

Using his arm strength to pull himself off the road, Mr Baptista worried the car would return. 

But bystanders rushed to his aid and an ambulance was called.

Unable to walk he remained in hospital for a week and spent nearly two months in recovery at home. 

He still requires rehabilitation after one of his legs swelled up to five times the normal size and experiences ongoing pain from tears in his groin. 

Under cross-examination, he denied being the aggressor of the fight and was questioned whether he could actually smell alcohol on Eaves’ breath. 

“It is definitely 150 per cent true,” he said. 

The hearing continues.