Visiting performer is ‘dragged along ground by taxi’

But taxi driver Glen Pontin, 56, of Rushford, Les Abreuveurs Road, St Sampson’s, denied assaulting William Bracey and an alternative of dangerous driving.

He also pleaded not guilty to failing to stop after an accident.

Mr Pontin said in evidence that he didn’t know what had happened and, if he had done, he would have stopped and taken the injured man to hospital.

Mr Bracey was a member of the cast of Saturday Night Fever last summer.

After the final show he went out drinking at 11pm and drank a pint of Budweiser and one-and-a-half pitchers of juice and spirits.

He got into the defendant’s taxi with a fellow performer at the Weighbridge taxi rank after 1am.

He was sick in the vehicle and Mr Pontin said the performer had to pay a £300 penalty.

Mr Bracey agreed and Mr Pontin drove him to Doyle Motors to use the cash machine.

But he had no money in his account and the incident grew tense.

Mr Bracey’s fellow performer ran away and the police were called.

When the officers arrived they found that the pair appeared civil and they then had to leave to deal with an emergency.

CCTV footage showed Mr Pontin in the driver’s seat and Mr Bracey outside the passenger door talking and pointing at one another.

Mr Pontin then put his seatbelt on and drove off with the passenger door open.

He said they had both been angry and he felt threatened by Mr Bracey and wanted to get away.

Mr Bracey said he had his arm inside the car, reaching into the back where he thought his mobile was.

He felt the car start to move quickly and described how his legs were just gone from under him and he was dragged across the forecourt.

‘I was just trying to get out, but I couldn’t,’ he said.

Mr Pontin reached the edge of the forecourt, closed the passenger door and drove off. Mr Bracey found himself alone on the ground. He crawled to a the front door of a house,but got no answer.

A passing motorist stopped and took him to hospital. He said he had been left with scars.

Mr Bracey said he shouted as he was dragged along, but Mr Pontin said he heard nothing. The defendant said he drove a hybrid car and there was little engine noise, and he was sure he heard footsteps and thought Mr Bracey had run alongside the car for a short way. He could see nothing in the rear view mirror as it was dark.

Crown Advocate Chris Dunford said the prosecution case was that the defendant drove off at speed deliberately without consideration for the victim’s safety.

‘There is little doubt he was a difficult customer for Mr Pontin,’ he said. ‘But the net effect was that he lost patience with Mr Bracey.’

The day after the incident Mr Pontin tried to get in touch with Mr Bracey via the theatre company and said only then did he discover the young man was injured. initially he did not believe the theatre company so did not report the accident.

‘If I had known I dragged him, I would have stopped and taken him to A&E, but, I’m sorry, I did not know,’ he said.

Defence advocate Sarah Brehaut said Mr Bracey had been incredibly intoxicated and his account was inconsistent. She said her client had been overtaking the victim and he could not have foreseen what happened.

The verdict will be delivered later this week.