EXCLUSIVE: Shocking alleged roadside attack described by no-nonsense judge as the ‘worst I’ve seen’: Getz driver may never be able to work again after ‘collision’ with Ford Raptor owner
- Ford Raptor driver refused bail for alleged road rage
- Veteran judge says alleged attack ‘worst I’ve seen’
- Alleged victim, 47, ‘might never work again’
A seasoned magistrate has described a brutal alleged traffic assault as the ‘worst’ he has ever witnessed, as the alleged victim’s family say he may never be able to work as a bus driver again.
Ford Raptor driver Din Decevic, 34, was denied bail by Sydney’s Bankstown court this week over an alleged incident in which he is accused of assaulting Hyundai Getz owner and father-of-two John Totsis, 47, on Sunday May 28 at Belmore.
Decevic was arrested Monday night in nearby Lakemba and was denied bail by magistrate Glenn Walsh after the court heard he was already out on bail on an alleged stalking charge involving another man.
Police are investigating whether there may have been an incident between Decevic and Mr. Totsis at a nearby gym, Belmore Plus Fitness, before Mr. Totsis went home between 7 and 7:15 p.m.
The father of two teenage sons stopped his Hyundai Getz hatchback near the corner of Peel and Bridge Streets, Belmore and got out of his car, police allege in court.
A short time later, police alleged that Mr. Decevic parked his utility Ford Raptor behind Mr. Totsis’ Hyundai and got out of the vehicle. The police will claim that he then attacked Mr. Totsis, who fell to the ground, and then continued to attack him.
Mr Totsis may never be able to return to his job as a bus driver due to brain attacks he has suffered since the attack, his sister Vicki Totsis said, adding that ‘he has no recollection’ of the incident.
Police obtained CCTV footage of a Peel Street resident showing this Ford Raptor around the time of an alleged road accident that left Mr Totsis in hospital with serious injuries
John Totsis (above with his partner, science teacher Liezl Rubillos) may not be able to resume his job as a bus driver after suffering brain damage from the alleged road rage
The fit and towering 188cm Mr. Totsis suffered skull fractures and a brain haemorrhage when he was reportedly hit from behind and fell to the ground.
Next week, a month after the alleged assault, Mr. Totsis will be transferred to a brain injury rehabilitation center.
Vicki Totsis wondered if the alleged attack was “personal” and if it might have started during her brother’s late afternoon workout.
She said a passing motorist from the Good Samaritan stopped to resuscitate her brother on the spot.
Belmore Plus Fitness told Daily Mail Australia they had been looking through the gym’s CCTV ‘to pick up strange body language’ of a possible fight.
However, a spokesman said Mr Totsis appeared to be having normal conversations and “talked to a lot of people that afternoon”.
Detectives arrested Mr Decevic after a three week investigation and he was taken into custody and formally denied bail.
He was later denied bail in his subsequent release request on Thursday.
Mr Totsis’ partner, Liezl Rubillos, a high school science teacher, told Daily Mail Australia she was stuck in the Philippines, waiting for an Australian visa she had applied for with Mr Totsis to be processed.
When Vicki Totsis posted a photo of her stricken and bloodied brother in hospital, Ms Rubillos wrote that she was tortured by images of him in hospital with a skull fracture and brain swelling.
Mr. Totsis (above in the hospital) is said to have been beaten by Din Decevic and then helped by a Good Samaritan. Soon he will be transferred to a brain injury rehabilitation center
Mr Totsis’ family have wondered if anything happened before the incident when he trained at Belmore Plus Fitness (above), who have studied the CCTV footage and found no ‘strange-looking body language’
John Totsis (above with Liezl Rubillos) is in hospital with brain injuries following an alleged traffic assault by a 34-year-old man who refused bail to a magistrate on Thursday
‘Praying for your speedy recovery my dear. It torments me if I really want to see you, care for you and be with you in this time of crisis, but I can’t right now. I don’t have my visa yet,” Ms. Rubillos posted on Facebook.
Vicki Totsis said her cousins were “devastated” by their father’s injuries and that the family was now adjusting to the fact that he had a long road to recovery.
Mr. Decevic’s case will come to court at a later date.
