'I'm not afraid to hit a girl': Man admits road-rage attack on student
A 21-year-old man has admitted a horrific road-rage attack where he tailgated a female student paramedic for 10 kilometres before punching her in the face, leaving her bruised, bloodied and traumatised.
Joshua Burke, who could be jailed for up to five years, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court for a committal hearing on Tuesday.
The victim, Erin, who doesn't want her surname made public, was 23 at the time of the attack on November 1, 2018.
She told court the terrifying ordeal had left her physically and emotionally scarred, derailed her studies and affected her job prospects.
The court was told Burke yelled at and intimidated Erin before punching her in the face, fracturing her eye socket in two places.
"I'm not afraid to hit a girl," he told the victim before the assault.
Erin said Burke gripped a deodorant can whilst punching her.
She was driving from work placement and wearing her paramedic's uniform at the time.
The incident began when both parties were travelling south on the Western Port Highway about 7pm.
Police said Burke was driving erratically and cut Erin off, leading to a "driving altercation".
Burke began repeatedly accelerating and braking, keeping the victim in a position where she could not get around him. At a bend in the road with a 100 km/h speed limit, he forced her to a complete stop.
She got around Burke by driving on the wrong side of the road – while another vehicle approached.
"I thought we were both going to die," she said.
Burke then tailgated Erin for about 10 kilometres, pursuing her as she drove as fast as she could to get away.
She stopped in Somerville when she saw a friend. Burke arrived and tried to smash Erin's window with his hand. He then started kicking her windows before assaulting her.
She was taken to Frankston Hospital where she was treated overnight for head trauma. Burke reported the incident to police.
Officers searched his vehicle where they found four box cutters and three bags of cannabis weighing about five grams.
He faces nine charges including intentionally causing injury, damaging property and possession of cannabis.
Burke is on bail and will be sentenced on June 26.
AAP