Road rage van driver jailed for 3.5 years after deliberately running over cyclist while delivering blood

A road rage van driver who was carrying blood products to a south London hospital has been jailed for three years and six months after deliberately driving into a cyclist, leaving the young man with fractures that needed metal plates and screws to repair.

Mark Okotie, 44, of Naylor Road, Southwark, was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday. He had been convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after a trial earlier this month. The attack happened at about 5.40pm on 20 March 2024, during the evening rush hour on New Cross Road in Lewisham.

What the court heard about the road rage van driver’s actions

The court heard that Okotie moved his van into the left lane “seemingly without looking” and came close to the cyclist. At the next set of traffic lights, the cyclist spat in the direction of the van. The spit “went through the open driver’s window”, jurors were told.

Dashcam footage from inside the van, released by the Metropolitan Police, shows Okotie turning the steering wheel sharply and driving into the cyclist. The cyclist went under two wheels of the vehicle. Footage from other vehicles and CCTV also captured the collision. Witnesses told officers they saw the van swerve out of its lane into the cyclist’s path and then accelerate. One said he believed the driver was trying to kill the cyclist, according to the Evening Standard.

Injuries and lasting impact on the cyclist

The cyclist, a man in his 20s, was taken to hospital with multiple fractures to his pelvis and a fractured femur. He later needed surgery to insert metal fixings into his pelvis and leg.

In a victim personal statement released by police, he said the effects have continued more than two years on. He used to jog every morning before work but has not been able to since. “When I hear a van or a large vehicle coming up behind me when I’m cycling it can make me panic,” he said. He also said he is now more cautious around people and tends to keep to himself in unfamiliar groups. He added that some things he would have liked to do, such as skydiving, are now probably out of reach.

Defence mitigation and the judge’s words

Defence barrister Mandisa Knights told the court that Okotie, a father of eight and a grandfather, mentors young people to keep them away from the violence he was exposed to as a young man. She said he had “departed so drastically from the man that he is” and described the incident as “a momentary relapse in retaliation”.

Sentencing him, Recorder Neil Haythorne called it “a moment of extreme road rage, which appears entirely out of character from what I have heard about you”. He added: “You used the van as a highly dangerous weapon.”

The judge did not disqualify Okotie from driving, noting that he has been driving for the two and a half years since the incident.

Police response

Detective Inspector Steven Andrews, who led the investigation, stressed the contrast between the purpose of the journey and what happened on it. “Instead of continuing a journey intended to support potentially lifesaving treatment, he chose to place someone else’s life at risk,” he said.

He said officers moved quickly to secure dashcam and CCTV footage and gather witness evidence, which left “no doubt about Okotie’s culpability”. He added that he hoped the sentence would show that deliberate violence on London’s roads “will be robustly investigated and prosecuted”.

The case shows how much weight the evidence from cameras and witnesses carried. The court was told of a brief provocation, and the footage showed a deliberate response to it. The judge’s description of the van as a weapon reflects how the law treats a vehicle used on purpose to injure someone, which is very different from a driving mistake. The sentencing hearing also heard that the road rage van driver was, by his own barrister’s account, a respected figure in his community, and that did not prevent a prison term.

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