Vincent Albert Knight: Elleker man jailed for driving into stranger on footpath in case of mistaken identity

An Elleker man who deliberately mowed down a stranger with his car in an “unreasonable and drug-induced rampage” has been jailed. Vincent Albert Knight was sentenced in Albany Magistrates Court on Thursday for dangerous driving causing bodily harm in a manner that was dangerous to the public. He appeared via video link from Albany Regional Prison. The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to the offence that occurred last year. At 12.20pm on June 18, 2024, the 35-year-old spotted the victim at a bus stop on Peels Place and accosted him, asking what “happened the other night”. When the man told him he had the wrong person, Knight accused him of dying his hair and took off his hat. The frightened victim got on a bus and left. Knight then drove his Mitsubishi Triton ute up York Street and spotted the victim walking near the BP service station on Albany Highway. Knight sped up and mounted the footpath, hitting the victim, who rolled onto the bonnet and fell back onto the path, sustaining injuries to his hip, collarbone and head. Knight drove away, leaving a member of the public to contact an ambulance. He was arrested the following day after police appealed to the public for help. Police prosecutor Sgt Dylan Fisher said the ongoing injuries to the victim were “quite severe” and the incident was “right at the top of the scale of dangerous driving”. Defence lawyer Bruno Illari said this was Knight’s second dangerous driving offence. Mr Illari said Knight was suffering from a methamphetamine comedown, which created “mental confusion” over the victim’s identity. He said it was an unfortunate accident that Knight — who was looking in his glove box when he mounted the curb — happened to strike the victim he was speaking to earlier. Magistrate Erin O’Donnell dismissed the explanation as “unlikely”. He was jailed for 10 months, backdated to August 10, 2024, and disqualified from driving for 18 months. He is eligible for parole. Knight will next appear in Albany District Court on June 25 for a trial listing hearing on a charge of rape. He will fight a string of charges from 2021-22, including unlawful aggravated assault causing bodily harm, common assault, being armed, impeding a person’s breathing, persistently engaging in family violence, breaching a restraining order, obstructing public officers and distributing an intimate image without consent charges, on November 6 in Albany Magistrates Court. He pleaded not guilty to all charges on Thursday, except obstructing public officers, which he indicated he would plead guilty to. A section five application was made for the unlawful assault, impeded breathing, distributing an intimate image without consent and family violence charges but it was refused.