Driver jailed for running over an innocent student in his 4×4 while looking for the pranksters who angered him by knocking on his door and running away
- Oliver Donnellan, 47, used 4×4 ‘as a weapon’ to bring down Christopher German
- Mr. German, 20, was sitting at the gate of a park with friends and sustained serious injuries.
A man who killed an innocent student after going on the hunt for young pranksters has been jailed.
Oliver Donnellan, 47, left business administration student Christopher German with serious leg injuries after using his 4×4 ‘as a weapon’ while the victim sat outside a park with friends.
He was jailed for 12 months after a jury found him guilty of causing serious injury while driving in a dangerous manner. He was also placed under a three-year driving ban.
Donnellan, a former head of an IT consultancy, was furious after two teenagers with whom he had a confrontation a week earlier beat up on his £350,000 semi-detached property in Over Hulton, Bolton, as a prank and then ran. off.
The father-of-two gave chase, jumping into his Land Rover Discovery with his brother. He sped down a grass track leading to Cutacre Country Park in Atherton, near Manchester, to find the culprits.
Oliver Donnellan, 47, used his 4×4 ‘as a weapon’ while the victim was sitting at the gate of a park with friends.
Business administration student Christopher German, 20, sustained serious leg injuries and then had to have his knee completely reconstructed.
But instead, he hit Mr. German, 20, who was watching Dr. Who on a phone. The student, who was not involved in the previous incidents, was thrown onto the hood.
Donnellan sped away while Mr. German’s friends attended to him. He later had to have his knee completely reconstructed and was unable to play soccer or skateboard.
Donnellan raced home after his attack and repaired the damage before replacing the Land Rover with an Audi.
He was charged 18 months later. Mr German’s father, Martin, told Bolton Crown Court that the businessman had tried to present himself as a respected and upstanding member of the community, “but I know differently”.
And he added: “My son went out on a Saturday and his life changed forever because a red mist descended on you and you couldn’t control yourself.”
He said that Donnellan had “never expressed an ounce of remorse”. The victim’s mother, Lynda, wept as she told the court that Donnellan had “used his car as a weapon.”