Northumberland driver who killed 'kind and loving' dad in 'vicious' road rage attack jailed

A Northumberland driver who killed a dad in a "vicious and cowardly" attack following a road-rage confrontation has been jailed.

Jake McIntyre attacked pedestrian, Andrew Peart after they clashed in what began as a minor traffic altercation in Guide Post, Northumberland on the evening of Tuesday, August 22 last year. After words were exchanged, Andrew - who was intoxicated - challenged McIntyre to a fight.

Later, McIntyre - who was said to have had amateur boxing and cage fighting experience - returned to the scene after arming himself with a metal wheel brace and hit Andrew in the head with it after tracking him down. He later recording himself bragging, saying he had "wrapped a pole around his head".

• Read more: Jake McIntyre sentence LIVE: Northumberland road rage driver who bragged of dishing out 'street justice' jailed for 14 years
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In May, McIntyre, of Stakeford Crescent, Stakeford, Ashington was cleared of murder by jurors at Newcastle Crown Court, but convicted of manslaughter. The 28-year-old returned to the court on Monday for sentence.

The court previously heard that at around 10pm on the night of the attack, Andrew was walking down the street and talking to a friend on the phone, when McIntyre, who was behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Shogun, was in the same area. At some point, the two crossed paths and Andrew may have walked into the road, causing McIntyre to "hit his horn". Words were then exchanged between them.

Judge Paul Sloan, KC, said McIntyre then drove past him "in very close proximity” and that Andrew believed he had deliberately tried to run him over. It was then that “matters escalated”. The judge said: “Mr Peart was intoxicated at the time and was shouting at you and challenging you to fight. He reinforced that by taking his top off and raising his hands. You took up that challenge.”

The court was told McIntyre then began shouting at Andrew, telling him “do you know who I am?”. He then drove away from the scene but was “incensed by what happened”, so later went searching for Andrew.

McIntyre armed himself with a "cylindrical metal implement" - a wheel brace - and managed to track Andrew down before unleashing an attack. Despite the victim attempting to apologise, McIntyre hit him in the head with the implement before delivering another forceful blow to his leg. He also punched him in the face and kicked him while he was on the floor in front of witnesses.

McIntyre drove off and Andrew eventually got up off the ground and walked away, phoning someone to say he had been hit with a bat by a man in a car. Andrew walked to someone's flat and they said he was fine but "fuming" and had a small lump on his head. He was collected by his partner and he told her he had been hit round the head by McIntyre with a metal bar, the court had heard.

In a video selfie made on August 23, McIntyre said: "I tell you what, it's a f****** nightmare this f****** hiding from the police, having to change my f****** car again for giving some little crack head street justice". In a voice note, in an alleged reference to the Shogun, he said: "I'm not using it for a while because the police are potentially looking for it because I wrapped a f****** pole around a little crack head's head last night".

The court heard that despite suffering serious injury, Andrew ignored advice from friends to go straight to hospital and instead went to seek McIntyre out and armed himself with a knife. But Andrew’s condition was deteriorating and he had sustained a fractured skull in the attack, as well as a ruptured artery. He then began to suffer increasing pain and was “clearly in need of medical attention”.

The following day he was taken to hospital but tragically died of a blunt force head injury around 12.30am on August 30 at Newcastle's RVI. After the attack, McIntyre - was had previous drug trafficking offences relating to cannabis on his record -swapped his car and fled to the Lake District with his girlfriend. He was later arrested at a hotel in Bowness.

During the sentencing, members of Andrew's family read out emotional statements. Lyndsay Porter, Andrew’s sister, said even though he could sometimes be unpredictable and make bad decisions, he was "also kind and caring, a good person. If you needed him he would be there in a heartbeat." She said McIntyre had shown no remorse "for killing my brother and robbing us of a future with him.”

The next statement was from Andrew’s mother, Christine Peart, who said the family had been "living a nightmare" since his death. She said that the family can only hope he was not in too much pain when he passed away, but not knowing will “haunt” the family forever.

John Elvidge KC, defending, said the attack was “out of character” for McIntyre and that it is a “tragic case”. He said: “He is a family man, he has no previous convictions for violent offending and no history of him being involved in unlawful violence. There is no suggestion that in the past he’s had any difficulties in controlling his temper or managing anger.” He added McIntyre was “remorseful of his actions”.

Sentencing him, Judge Sloan said the attack was “vicious and cowardly” and that he was "incensed by what happened". He jailed McIntyre for 14 years.