NSW:Cyclist left elderly woman lying by road

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2011
NSW:Cyclist left elderly woman lying by road

By Genevieve Gannon

SYDNEY, Dec 1 AAP - A cyclist shoved the elderly mother of former Rugby League player
Joe Thomas during an argument and left her lying by the side of the road, a NSW court
has been told.

One witness says the rider told him "that bitch got in my way" after the altercation.

Daniel Paul Wood, 30, of Mascot, faced a committal hearing in Sydney's Central Court on Thursday.

Wood allegedly pushed Mary Touma, 71, in May last year, causing her to hit her head
on a brick wall and later die.

The initial charge of murder was reduced to manslaughter after magistrate Julie Huber
accepted crown prosecutor Peter Stanhope's submission that Wood had engaged in a dangerous
and unlawful act, but he should not be charged with murder.

Witness Con Missikos told Ms Huber he saw one person push another to the ground from
his brother's second-storey balcony on Gardiners Road.

By the time he got downstairs to investigate, the person was "skipping away", he told the court.

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Richard Jankowski, Mr Missikos admitted he
hadn't actually seen the cyclist make contact with the woman.

The crown alleges Wood had been riding along Gardiners Road, Eastlakes, on May 21,
2010, when he got into a heated argument with Mrs Touma, got off his bike and pushed her.

Muhammad Muzammil, who was on his ground floor unit balcony, said his attention was
drawn to the street by aggressive noises "like somebody wants to fight" and a "bad noise
like somebody hitting the ground very hard".

Mr Muzammil said his view was partially obscured by plants and he did not see the incident occur.

He told the court he asked the man involved what had happened, to which the man replied:
"That bitch got in my way."

The hearing will continue on Friday.

AAP gg/af/sn/de

KEYWORD: LEGAL: WOOD WRAP

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