An elderly couple keyed their luxury car in broad daylight in a fit of traffic rage, a court was told.
Raymond Edwards, 70, and his wife Barbara Edwards, 70, each pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The two were subsequently charged Camera captures keystrokes in luxury car At Brookside Shopping Center in Mitchelton, Inner North Brisbane in October last year.
Dashcam footage from the damaged Tesla vehicle, first obtained by 7News, shows two people weaving their way through parked cars and then pressing the keys on the electric vehicle with the intent of causing damage. There is.
The court was told Mr Edwards also locked a white BMW which was parked next to the Tesla.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Josh Kelly said officers had received estimates of the damage to each vehicle, with the BMW at $2,443.61 (approximately $1,609) and the Tesla at $1,794.51 ($1,181).
Sergeant Kelly demanded that the couple pay for repairs, even though the car's owner may have insurance.
“Whatever the reason, this is the fact that there was some disagreement with a road user and the defendant took matters into his own hands and indiscriminately broke the law,” he said. .
“Given the circumstances, it is appropriate to order restitution in that amount, regardless of whether the citizen has insurance.
“When we rely on insurance to cover costs, the entire community suffers.”
Defense attorney Bruce Peters, who represented the Edwardses in court, said his clients apologized for the harm they had caused.
He said their violence stemmed from an earlier incident in which a white Tesla and a white BMW “took them off the road and nearly pushed them into a power pole” about a half-mile from Brookside Shopping Center. He explained that this was a direct result of.
“Once they regained their composure, they continued on to Brookside Shopping Center, and lo and behold, the two cars they thought they had been blocking, a white BMW and a white Tesla, were parked next to each other. “It was,” Peters said.
“They took their frustration out on the car.”
The couple were each given a 12-month good behavior bond of $500 (US$330).
Mr. Edwards was ordered to pay $2,443.61 ($1,608) in restitution for damages caused to the Tesla and BMW, and Mr. Edwards was ordered to pay the remaining $897.25 ($590) to repair the Tesla.
No convictions were recorded.
The couple, who claimed to have been harassed on social media after a video of their car being damaged was released, were shielded by family and friends with umbrellas as they left court to avoid being photographed.
Mr Peters told the court that stones were allegedly thrown at his client's home and that his client had been “vilified” online since the video went viral.
