SAINT JOHN, N.B. — A New Brunswick senior has pleaded guilty to running down a man after he was captured on video racing through a parking lot and striking a pedestrian, sending him flying through the air.
Saint John Police Force Sgt. Charles Breen said Gene Williams got into an argument with several men in another vehicle last Thursday in Grand Bay, about 25 minutes outside the city.
"They had words in the parking lot and Mr. Williams took exception to it and followed them," he said.
Breen said he couldn't reveal the nature of the disagreement, but he said the 69-year-old pursued the car to a Saint John parking lot, where he turned around his Audi SUV and hit one of the passengers.
"It's been classified as a road rage — this type of an incident is pretty rare, actually," Breen said. "We don't get a lot of calls concerning incidents like that, not where it's taken to the extreme that this one was."
A woman with the victim shot video of the incident and can be heard calmly describing the scene to police as two men appear to shout at the black SUV after it enters the lot in Saint John. Then the vehicle turns around and races toward the men, hitting one of them.
"Oh my God, he just hit my friend!" she shrieks as the car zooms off. "He smoked him. Yes, he can't move his arm. I need an ambulance."
The video, which has been viewed more than 190,000 times on YouTube, shows the man laying on the ground, and he can be heard saying he can't move his arm. Breen says he was later treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
"(He was) very lucky," he said. "If you watch the video, he was struck pretty hard by the vehicle."
Breen said police apprehended Williams about 10 minutes later and took him into custody for a court hearing Friday, when he pleaded guilty to three charges, including assault with weapon, dangerous driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
Williams, who lives in Saint John, is to be held in custody until his April 10 sentencing.
Breen said the man who was hit was with four other people, none of whom appeared to know Williams.
