A Wollongong Uber driver is facing jail time after being found guilty of predatory driving during a late-night road-rage incident on the M1 at Gwynneville.
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Daniel Shahab, 31, was on his way to pick up a passenger on May 21 last year when he deliberately rammed his maroon Toyota Aurion into a white Ford Focus while travelling at 60km/h.
The collision - found to have been a retaliation for the Ford driver giving Shahab "the finger" - caused the Toyota to flip onto its roof in the middle of the road.
No one was injured in the crash, however when police questioned Shahab at the scene about what he'd done, he told them he'd been angry at the other driver's rude gesture and admitted intentionally ramming the Ford.
Court documents said Shahab was on the M1 just before 10.30pm when he cut in front of the victim's car while changing lanes ahead of the next exit, causing the victim to brake harshly to avoid a collision.
The victim flashed his lights at Shahab before sticking his middle finger up at him.
Your clear intention when you spoke to police was to harm him ... because you were angry, because he stuck his finger up at you.
Shahab returned the gesture, then deliberately swerved his vehicle into the victim's car. The court heard the Shahab was travelling at about 60km/h when he hit the Ford, which was stationary at the time.
"He stopped his car in the middle of the freeway ... [he] showed me his finger," Shahab said to police at the time.
"Did you crash into his car intentionally?" the officer asked him.
"[Yes] cause he showed me his finger ... I got angry when he showed me his finger."
Shahab was taken to Wollongong Police Station and interviewed, where he reiterated his earlier comments, saying he was "out of control" and had "tried to harm" the other driver.
"Fortunately no harm was done, just the car," he said.
Shahab was charged with predatory driving and released on bail.
He pleaded not guilty to the offence during a hearing in Wollongong Local Court on Friday, claiming he'd lied to the police that night out of fear. He also claimed he'd been unable to understand what the officers were asking him as English was his second language and he had been feeling the effects of the accident.
"It's not true I wanted to harm someone," he told the court.
"In the interview my head was dizzy ... I could not understand what I was saying."
However, Magistrate Claire Girotto said it was clear that a lot of what Shahab had said to the police that night was not a lie.
"Your clear intention when you spoke to police was to harm him ... because you were angry, because he stuck his finger up at you," she said, in finding the offence proven beyond reasonable doubt.
"It was very dangerous behaviour."
Magistrate Girotto ordered a background report be prepared ahead of Shahab's sentencing on May 13.
The court heard Shahab no longer works as an Uber driver.
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