Company director, 69, in road rage fury used 4×4 Jeep to ram cyclist, 17, to the ground and trash his £2,500 bike then got out to punch him in the face

• Michael Hanley, 69, is facing jail for mowing down and beating up a teen cyclist
• Hanley was found guilty of dangerous driving and common assault 
• The 17-year-old £2,500 mountain bike was written off after the incident
• He was left with bruising on his left shin, left cheek and a swollen right knee cap

Company director Michael Hanley, 69, is facing jail after using his 4×4 Jeep Cherokee to knock down the victim, 17, off his £2,500 mountain bike after he pulled in front of him at a set of traffic lights in Summerseats, Bury

A company director is facing jail after he was convicted of mowing down and beating up a teenage cyclist before trashing his new bicycle during a road rage row.

Michael Hanley, 69, used a 4×4 Jeep Cherokee to deliberately knocked down the victim, 17, off his £2,500 mountain bike after the teen pulled in front of him at a set of traffic lights in Summerseats, Bury. 

Hanley, from Greenmount, Bury and an director of an estates management company, was found guilty of dangerous driving and common assault following a trial at Manchester magistrates court. 

The incident, which occurred on October 15 last year at 1.45pm, saw the father-of-two waiting at a set of temporary traffic lights near roadworks while on his was to a B&Q store.

Trouble began when the boy passed the row of stationary traffic behind Hanley and then pulled in front of the Jeep just before the lights were about to turn green.   

Hanley was seen aggressively ‘bumper hugging’ the back tyre of the bicycle after the lights turned green and he repeatedly beeped his horn at him and flashing his lights. 

The teenager was eventually sent tumbling to the floor when he tried to veer off down a dirt track only for the Jeep to clipped his shin as it tried to get passed.

As he lay on the floor, Hanley got out of his 4×4 vehicle on the dirt track and told the shaken boy: ‘Little sh*t – you’ve done this’, and ‘did you see what he was doing? He was weaving all over the road’ to a shocked motorist who pulled over.

The company director then grabbed the teenager’s shirt and punched him in the face before roaring off in his vehicle and smashing his own wing mirror in a temper tantrum.

The lad – whose six month old bike was written off in the incident – was given a lift home by the other motorist, he was treated for bruising to his left shin and left cheek plus a swollen right knee cap.  

Giving evidence by video link, the boy recalled to the court he went down a narrow road that only allowed for one vehicle at a time and that the 4×4 following him was less that a foot close to his bike. 

‘I felt immediate danger and I gestured to him to back off but he just kept driving closer and closer flashing his lights and beeping his horn. 

‘I was cycling at about 15 or 20 miles per hour and the 4×4 was practically touching my back wheel and he didn’t back off at all. I cycled as fast as I could and tried to get out of the way.

The boy said: ‘Mr Hanley tried to overtake but was unsuccessful and was within a few inches of touching me or my bike and the vehicle made contact with me on one overtaking attempt.’

Hanley was found guilty of dangerous driving and common assault following a trail at Manchester magistrates court. He was granted bail and will be sentenced later this month

‘The road was very narrow and his wing mirror made contact with my arm as I gestured to back off – that didn’t make him back off either. If anything it provoked him and made him more aggressive. 

‘I thought I need to get away from him and I turned onto a single track but as I turned onto the lane I felt an almighty whack on my left shin and I realised the defendant’s car had made contact with me.

‘I was knocked off my bike and I landed on the road but the defendant stopped his vehicle and came towards me shouting and swearing. “Little sh*t you’ve done this you’ve done that”. I thought ‘you’ve just hit me’.” 

He continued: ‘Mr Hanley went round to his left hand wing mirror and then ripped it off himself. I was on the floor but got up whilst he was shouting at me and was being very aggressive.’ 

The boy recalled Hanley grabbing his shirt and dragging him towards his Jeep before attempting to run away. 

‘He grabbed my shirt and turned me round and punched me. Then he got in his car and drove off.

He told the court: ‘The bike is irreparable. I went round several bike shops and they said it’s worth practically nothing now. 

‘The incident has affected me quite badly and I wasn’t fully myself for weeks following it. I lost my confidence and from now on I’ll feel more cautious on the roads if I get another bike.’ 

Eye witness Georgina Cullen, who was driving behind Hanley, said: ‘It became apparent the driver wasn’t very impressed with the cyclist and was driving extremely close and beeping aggressively. 

‘I was quite shocked at what I was seeing. He was very close – too close to be considered safe. He was badgering the cyclist who peddling as fast as he could and I saw the cyclists face and he looked distressed.’

She recalled the cyclist had raised his arm twice signalling him to “back off” which had no impact on the defendant who accelerated after the teen and clipped his bike.

‘I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. I was extremely concerned for the well-being of the cyclist.

Ms Cullen explained that the pulled over to the side of the road and recalled Hanley telling her the cyclist was weaving all over the road, to which she replied that he was signalling for him ‘to have more patience’. 

‘I think I actually said “that’s someone’s son. He wasn’t weaving he was trying to tell you that there was no room.” The defendant then got hold of the cyclist’s arm and punched him in the face. He then very aggressively walked round to passenger side of his car and ripped at the wing mirror.

She told the court that Hanley did a three point turn before driving away and left the boy in a ‘very very shaken’ state and ‘physically shaking quite a lot’.

‘I was just in disbelief that someone could use a vehicle in such a manner and purposefully hit another human being,’ Ms Cullen added. 

Hanley, who attended a police station after the incident, denied wrongdoing claiming his car’s braking mechanism would have prevented him getting to close to the bike. 

‘I wasn’t very close to him and when I went to overtake him he weaved into the road. I blew my horn at him and he turned round and swore.

He added that in his 50 years of driving he had never seen anything like the cyclist, saying his ‘antics was what was causing the problems.’

Hanley continued: ‘He must have gone into a pothole and came off his bike. I couldn’t use my vehicle as a weapon because the breaking mechanism would stop it. 

‘All I was doing was trying to stop him and get the police involved because of the damage he’s done to my wing mirror.’

‘I have no problem with cyclists – there should be more cyclists on the road. I used to be a cyclist. But if we all stayed behind cyclists and never overtook the whole world would come to a standstill.’

Hanley will be sentenced later this month. He was granted bail.

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