Joshua Cowles, 29, of Shepparton, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to assault and failing to give his address after a collision.
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Anna Hanlon told the court Cowles had been turning left from Wilmot Rd into Archer St when his Holden Berlina was hit from behind by a Toyota Kluger after Cowles stopped to give way to a fire truck.
Both vehicles stopped and the two drivers got out.
Cowles then grabbed the other driver by the shirt, punched them multiple times in the face and pushed them into a fence.
Cowles then left without exchanging details with the other driver about the crash.
When interviewed, he told police he was “just angry” and his actions were “stupid”, Leading Sen Constable Hanlon said.
“I should have talked it out,” Cowles told police.
Cowles’ solicitor told the court it was a “spur of the moment” action by her client and that he was unlikely to reoffend.
She also told how Cowles was the sole carer for his grandmother and took meals to both her and his brother.
She said any loss of licence for him would be burdensome on all of them.
Cowles was fined $750, but the magistrate did not take his driver’s licence from him.
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