A van driver who was delivering blood to a hospital deliberately mowed down a cyclist who spat at him, a court has heard.
Mark Okotie, 44, has been jailed after knocking a man off his bike, causing him to go under two wheels of his vehicle, during rush hour on the evening of March 20, 2024.
Woolwich Crown Court heard Okotie was delivering blood products to a south London hospital when he moved his van into the left lane ‘seemingly without looking’, coming close to the man on his bike in New Cross Road, Lewisham.
At the next set of traffic lights, the cyclist spat in Okotie’s direction, and the court heard it ‘went through the open driver’s window’.
Dashcam footage from inside Okotie’s van shows him turning the steering wheel sharply to run over the cyclist.
The defendant, who mentors young people to keep them out of violence, was sentenced to three years and six months’ imprisonment on Tuesday after being convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent at the end of a trial earlier this month.
Okotie, of Naylor Road in Southwark, sat in the dock as the court heard that his victim needed ‘numerous screws and plates’ in his pelvis and femur after suffering several fractures.
Defence barrister Mandisa Knights said Okotie, who is a father of eight children and has a one-year-old grandchild, works with young people ‘to prevent them from entering a world of violence’, which he was exposed to as a young man.
She said: ‘Unfortunately on this occasion, (he) departed so drastically from the man that he is. This is a man who stands not only at the centre of his family but the centre of his community.”
‘A momentary relapse in retaliation has led him to these grave consequences.’
The barrister told the court: ‘Mr Okotie has to re-enter his community, the boys that he has mentored and has shown that there is a different path, and look them in the eye and say ‘I have done this’.’
Sentencing Okotie, Recorder Neil Haythorne said: ‘In a moment of extreme road rage, which appears entirely out of character from what I have heard about you, you caused serious injury to a cyclist. You used the van as a highly dangerous weapon.’
The judge did not disqualify Okotie from driving as part of his sentence, noting that he has been driving for the last two and a half years since the incident.
In a statement released by police, the victim said he is an active person but has been unable to go jogging and do other physical activities because of his injuries.
He said: ‘When I hear a van or a large vehicle coming up behind me when I’m cycling, it can make me panic.’
Detective Inspector Steven Andrews, from the Met Police, said: ‘Okotie was driving a vehicle carrying blood destined for hospital patients in need. Instead of continuing a journey intended to support potentially lifesaving treatment, he chose to place someone else’s life at risk.”
‘I hope this sentence provides a measure of justice for the victim and demonstrates that deliberate acts of violence on London roads will be robustly investigated and prosecuted.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
MORE: First picture of man, 29, killed after tree crushed car in Storm Boelo
MORE: Nurse treating Ebola outbreak patients killed by machete-wielding mob
MORE: New Respect Orders for antisocial behaviour are now in force – what are they?