A driver has been acquitted of murder after a hammer-wielding, near-naked man was fatally struck following a road rage-inspired car chase.
Umar Hussein Alkhalifa Al Enizi, 24, was accused of swerving “violently” and hitting Troy Edward Vandenberg following a traffic dispute south of Brisbane in September 2021.
Vandenberg, 25, was standing in his underwear on a Browns Plains roadway about to throw a hammer at Al Enizi’s car when he was struck and flung into the air, the court heard.
Umar Hussein Alkhalifa Al Enizi, 24, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Troy Edward Vandenberg.Credit: AAP
The driver was on Monday found not guilty of murder and a lesser charge of manslaughter in Brisbane Supreme Court after arguing he had acted in “instinctive” self-defence.
Al Enizi blinked back tears when the verdicts were revealed by the jury, which began deliberating on Friday, following a four-day trial before Acting Justice Peter Applegarth.
Members of Vandenberg’s family wept as the verdicts were read out and quickly left the court.
The two men were strangers who became involved in an ongoing traffic incident starting about 2.30pm on September 17, 2021, the court heard.
Witnesses described how Vandenberg, wearing only underwear, got out of his car at traffic lights and hit Al Enizi’s vehicle, accusing him of cutting him off.
The pair were also seen throwing punches at each other before driving off to their respective homes.
Read the full article here
