Colin O'Keefe repeatedly reversed and accelerated as he attempted to mow down his victims
A drunken punch-up in a pub took a deadly turn when a man jumped behind the wheel of his car and deliberately ploughed into a group of people at high speed.
As the group ran for cover, O'Keefe drove at them again, hitting Craig Fletcher and injuring his back and jaw. Prosecutor Michael Stephenson said: "It seems to be common ground that there was falling out in the pub, primarily between the defendant and Luke Fletcher, although others were drawn in." "The defendant drove up the road about 30 yards before turning and coming back; on this occasion he pinned Paul Fletcher and Luke Fletcher against a wall according to some of the witnesses. Paul Fletcher describes jumping up onto the bonnet of the car to avoid being trapped, from where he fell to the ground and skinned his knee.
Despite the witness discrepancies - which were described as "understandable" - judge Garrett Byrne said he was satisfied O'Keefe had indeed driven his car three times at the family in an attempt to "cause grave or life-threatening injury". Judge Byrne said: "It appears there was some confrontation and you received injuries as a result of that. There was another confrontation outside the pub. No matter what went on there, nothing could have justified what you went on to do, which was truly shocking. You got behind the wheel of your car, clearly intoxicated, and you deliberately drove the car at speed onto the pavement, striking Jennifer first.
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