Road rage driver jailed for ramming motorcyclist at Lonsdale

Australia Broadcast Center

15-05-2025

A driver who rammed a motorcyclist into a Stobie pole during a road rage incident has been jailed for the "deliberate, aggressive and dangerous" act.
Matthew James Hollitt, 42, of Morphett Vale has been sentenced in Adelaide's District Court after pleading guilty to a charge of causing serious harm by dangerous driving.
Hollitt rammed into motorcyclist Rachel Secker at a Lonsdale roundabout on January 2, 2023.
Judge Kristopher Handshin said a sequence of events, which was captured on Hollitt's dashcam, began after Ms Secker overtook Hollitt on the Southern Expressway.
The pair later took the same exit.
The judge said Hollitt was later seen tailgating Ms Secker, and had performed an overtaking manoeuvre before slowing down in front of her, in a move the judge described as "hyper-aggressive and simply unnecessary".
"Even if, as you thought, Ms Secker had deliberately slowed her speed of travel in a provocative manner, your manoeuvre was completely unwarranted," Judge Handshin said.
He said within a few seconds, Ms Secker struck Hollitt's car with her hand or arm in retaliation as she overtook him.
Hollitt then followed her onto the wrong side of the road before colliding with the rear of her motorbike on the roundabout.
He said Ms Secker was then propelled across the roundabout and crushed between Hollitt's car and a Stobie pole, suffering several "confronting" injuries including fractures and burns which required several surgeries.
"She sustained terrible injuries and, frankly, is extraordinarily lucky to be alive," Judge Handshin said.
He said Ms Secker spent about two months in hospital and required ongoing rehabilitation.
At a previous court hearing, Ms Secker read aloud her victim impact statement and told the court the "traumatic event" had "profoundly impacted" her psychological and emotional wellbeing.
"My future ambitions, particularly in areas related to motorcycling and racing, have simply been derailed and now I experience trauma responses to traffic, driving and motorcycle use," she told the court.
Outside court after the sentence, Ms Secker said she was "very happy with the justice system".
Her mother, Carol Fidge, said she was relieved to still have her daughter, and that it was "nice that we got the outcome that we wanted". She urged all drivers to be considerate on the road.
In sentencing, Judge Handshin said Hollitt had since taken responsibility for his actions, which he described as "very dangerous", and had written an apology.
"Your dangerous driving came about because of what you perceived to be Ms Secker's provocative conduct," he said.
"There is an overwhelming need to ensure that as a community of motorists, we appreciate that deliberately dangerous driving — even if impulsive, but which is productive of terrible consequences — will be met with condign punishment."
He said the dashcam captured Hollitt making disparaging remarks about the way Ms Secker was riding, and that Hollitt later commented to bystanders that Ms Secker "deserved it".
The court heard Hollitt had autism and suffered PTSD after witnessing a fatal crash when he was 19, which impacted his views of "bad driving".
The judge said Hollitt had also "endured a great deal of grief" throughout his life.
After accounting for his plea, Judge Handshin jailed Hollitt for two years, eight months and 13 days, and set a non-parole period of 15 months.