A dispute between two motorists over queue-jumping at a council rubbish tip ended with the death of one of them, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.
Colin Jones, a retired consultant engineer, broke the arm of the other driver after his BMW car was cut up at the entrance to the dump, it was alleged.
David Henson, 53, a chartered surveyor driving a borrowed Vauxhall Astra, died a few hours later when his heart stopped after an operation to repair the broken limb.
The incident happened on a Sunday afternoon in January last year, at the refuse site in Epsom, Surrey. Mr Jones, now 72, from Epsom, denies manslaughter and grievous bodily harm.
Victor Temple, QC, for the prosecution, said that, unknown to anyone, Mr Henson, from Coulsdon, Surrey, had an enlarged heart, which was put under strain by the operation. Mr Temple told the jury that Mr Henson’s death was as a direct result of the incident.
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Mr Temple said: “In any view, the deceased pushed ahead of this defendant as they were both waiting to enter the refuse site. Neither man behaved particularly well, good manners being lost to both of them. Despite the differences in their ages, events were to show that this defendant was the fitter and healthier.”
He said that the men were attempting to get into the tip at a point where two queues converged from different entrances. “The defendant was not prepared to give way,” Mr Temple said. “The two cars almost jostled for position at the entrance gate. The deceased’s red Astra managed to get in front of the defendant’s silver BMW.”
When the queue of traffic again came to a stop, Mr Jones got out of his car and approached Mr Henson, who was sitting with his arm resting on the open window.
Mr Temple said: “The defendant was very angry and began to shout at David Henson. David Henson reacted in kind, but at no stage did he threaten or attack this defendant.
“The defendant was the aggressor and resorted to physical violence. He grabbed the deceased man’s arm, slamming it down over the window and wrenching it back and forth, causing a fracture of the upper arm. The deceased pulled his arm back into the car and this defendant stormed back to his vehicle and drove across to the rubbish chutes.”
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After Mr Henson’s partner, Barbara Cosh, arrived, he told her: “I really did not do anything to get this.” She approached Mr Jones, who allegedly told her: “I have been waiting here for half an hour and he comes in front of me.”
Mr Jones told police that Mr Henson had grabbed his wrist and that he had struggled to remove his hand.
He claimed that Mr Henson had been in a “frenzied, ballistic state”. The trial continues.