Accused mum claims driver ran her off the road

A woman accused of ramming a car off the road has told jurors that the other driver actually tried to ram her.

Prosecutors allege that Hollie Dance, her son Thomas Summers, and a third man - Rhys Bentley - were angered by an altercation that had happened involving Dance's daughter in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.

The trio chased the driver out of revenge along the A127 on 10 October 2022, jurors have been told.

Giving evidence at Basildon Crown Court on Thursday, Dance became emotional as she told jurors the incident took place three weeks after she buried her son Archie Battersbee.

The 12-year-old's life support was switched off in the April after a legal battle that attracted global attention.

Dance, 50, 26-year-old Summers and Bentley, 25, deny causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Giving evidence, Dance admitted to following the vehicle but alleged the driver had hit her with his own car during the pursuit.

She claimed that the driver had tried to "run her off the road" before he crashed into a tree in Uppermayne, Basildon.

"I wouldn't call [what the driver did] an accident," she said.

Dance claimed her daughter had been "bottled" and added: "I wanted to find out where he lived, I wanted to identify the person who attacked my daughter.

"I followed him, but I accept that it wasn't the right thing to do - I had no intention to cause harm to anyone."

Dance said she had taken a photo of the driver's registration plate early on in the pursuit, but still wanted to follow the car.

"I didn't know if the car would be registered to him, so I thought it best to follow him instead," she said.

Jurors were told that police also found an "incapacitant spray" with Dance's DNA on it near the scene of the crash.

This type of spray can cause eye, skin, and respiratory irritation.

Dance claimed she did not know the spray was in the car, but that her ex-boyfriend also had access to the vehicle before the date of the incident.

Last week, prosecutor Richard Scott told the trial that Dance "stalked" the victim in her BMW, with Summers and Bentley following in a second car.

When the victim stopped at a red light in Kenilworth Gardens, his car was boxed in by Summers and Bentley, the court heard. One of them was armed with a baseball bat, Scott said.

Jurors were told the pursuit continued along the A127 - with the victim making an "increasingly frantic" call to police - before he was rammed into a tree in Uppermayne by Dance's BMW.

He was then mowed down by Summers's rented Toyota while trying to escape on foot, Scott added.

The three defendants also deny causing the man serious injury by dangerous driving.

Summers and Bentley also deny affray, while Summers has pleaded not guilty to possessing a baseball bat in public.

The trial continues.

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