A woman with "road rage" drove at two runners on a busy road and told police: "Those people shouldn't be jogging down roads." The victims had to move out of the direction of the driver's car to avoid being hit.
Lauren Goddard, 38, shouted and beeped at the runners while driving along the B4524 in Ogmore-by-Sea, Bridgend, on March 14, 2021. A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Wednesday heard the defendant had dropped off a friend following an argument when she became angry at runners on the side of the road.
One of the runners signalled for her to slow down but she continued driving towards Ogmore-by-Sea. When she arrived in the town she drove back towards Bridgend. She saw a runner heading towards her and they described her driving as "erratic".
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Prosecutor Sophie Keegan said the runner moved behind the white line in the road but Goddard veered her Peugeot 807 towards the man who had to step out of the way to avoid being hit. A few moments later the defendant approached another runner from behind and beeped her horn. The runner turned around and saw Goddard shouting at him and he stepped up onto a grass verge but the defendant swerved up the banking and the victim had to jump out of the way to avoid a collision.
Ms Keegan said Goddard nearly lost control of her car but managed to regain control and drove off. She was arrested later the same day and told officers: "Those people shouldn't be jogging down roads. They're 60mph roads."
The defendant, of Plassy Street, Penarth, denied the offences but was later found guilty of two counts of dangerous driving following a trial. Goddard, who appeared at her sentencing via videolink from HMP Eastwood Park, left halfway through the hearing and did not return.
The court was also told Goddard pleaded guilty to assault by beating and assaulting an emergency worker – offences which took place on September 7, last year. She also pleaded guilty to three counts of assault by beating, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, two counts of racially/religiously-aggravated harassment, and one count of racially/religiously-aggravated fear/provocation of violence by words/writing. These offences took place on September 16 last year. She was also in breach of a suspended sentence for two counts of assaulting an emergency worker.
In mitigation Ross McQuillian-Johnson described his client as a "woman who has suffered a series of events described as horrific". He said she had been diagnosed with PTSD and self-medicated with alcohol and recreational drugs in an attempt to suppress memories of those events.
Sentencing, Judge Richard Williams said: "There were a series of incidents of offences of aggressive and violent behaviour. These are so serious only a custodial sentence can be justified."
Goddard was sentenced to a total of 18 months imprisonment. She was disqualified from driving for a total of two years and nine months.
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