A hospitality mogul who struck a young boy with his car received a penalty that some netizens deemed as nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
Australian businessman Howard Wright was captured on camera striking a 12-year-old boy on an electric bike with his Audi A5.
Footage of the January 5 incident was captured on the boy’s GoPro and made the rounds online, sparking heated discussions.
Australian businessman Howard Wright was slapped with a fine after colliding with a 12-year-old boy on an electric bike
Image credits: 7 NEWS
Image credits: 7 NEWS
Wright, 58, whose company owns two bars in Paradise Point, was slapped with a fine of around $645 AUD (around $400 USD) for driving without due care and attention and lost three demerit points following the incident.
The penalty reportedly left some netizens fuming, with one saying: “That’s bulls--- .”
“People saying he had the right of way, shouldn’t have a license,” read a second comment on the crash video, while a third wrote, “God help that man he [sic] if hits my kid like that...”
Queensland Police defended the punishment doled out to Wright. They noted that the boy involved in the incident had racially abused the hospitality boss by calling him the N-word prior to the collision.
Footage of the collision captured on the boy’s GoPro went viral on social media
Image credits: 7 NEWS
“Police have reviewed the footage from the child, or the boy, in its entirety, and this has corroborated with the adult driver’s version of events that he was racially abused and harassed prior to the collision by the boy and his associates,” Acting Superintendent Jason Tuffley was quoted telling reporters on Monday, January 20.
“As a result of this information, and the demeanour of the driver afterward, the fact that he reported it took place, and police reviewing the matter in its entirety, it was decided that a traffic infringement only will be issued to the driver, of which carries a fine of $640 and three demerit points,” he continued.
Superintendent Tuffley also said the boy was given a warning about his conduct.
Wright claimed he was trying to “stop” the boy and confront him because of the alleged “harassment”
Image credits: 7 NEWS
“The child has been warned in relation to posting content online which has led to threats to the driver of the vehicle as well as posting his address,” he said.
When asked whether there was any backstory that led to Wright striking the child with his car, the superintendent replied: “In this circumstance, the appropriate course of action has been taken, and he has been issued with the traffic infringement notice.”
“I can’t answer that question of every single circumstance in relation to a vehicle striking a child. Of course, that wouldn’t be an appropriate course of action,” he added.
Amid the backlash that emerged online, the driver explicitly said in a statement that he “did not intend to hit” the boy “at all.”
The hospitality mogul's company owns two bars in Paradise Point
Image credits: The Lounge
“I wanted to talk to him to say, stop doing this. You are harassing me, and I don’t deserve that.”
Wright claimed he was trying to “stop” the boy because of the alleged “harassment” he’s had “for the last 3 months.”
“I tried to pull in front of him, and it was unfortunately it was slightly misjudged … I was trying to pull in front of him. He’s on a 70 km/hr illegal scooter. If you pull behind him, they go. Kids are kids; we were all kids. This isn’t that. This got to harassment; it was multiple times per day.”
The incident, filmed by the 12-year-old boy's GoPro, had captured the tense encounter after the child was knocked to the ground.
Queensland police defended the $640 AUD fine placed on the 58-year-old driver
“What the f---, I didn't do nothing, I didn't do nothing, I wasn't even there,” the young cyclist was heard saying.
“I know you didn't do anything,” the driver said before pointing out, “This bike's illegal.”
“I know, but why did you hit me?” the boy asked in return.
“You ran in front of my car,” Wright said. “I'm sorry.”
The viral clip also captured a woman approaching them and telling Wright that the boy is “just a kid.”
Wright then began explaining how some kids had been ringing his doorbell every day, and he had taken his complaint to the police.
“In this circumstance, the appropriate course of action has been taken,” the Queensland Police said in a statement
Image credits: 7 NEWS
Image credits: 7 NEWS
“They are ringing my doorbell every day,” he said.
“I didn't do it,” insisted the boy, who was left with some bruises and scratches from the collision while his $7000 electric bike was also damaged.
Following the collision, the boy’s father expressed frustration over Wright not facing charges for knocking his son down.
“[My son’s] contacted me in shock, pretty much quite frightened at what had happened. From what I can see on the footage he [driver] has rammed him off his bike with his motor vehicle,” the father said, as quoted by the Gold Coast Bulletin.
The 12-year-old boy sustained bruises and scratches, and his $7000 electric bike was also damaged
Image credits: Gold Coast Bulletin
The father said he went to the Runaway Bay Police Station with his son after seeing the GoPro footage.
“When I was talking to police, they said he’s in a lot of trouble for this,” the parent previously said. “The police saw the footage on the GoPro, and they were [in] disgust with it.”
The father said he wasn’t happy with Wright getting away with a fine.
“The man [Wright] just walks away with a $700 fine. For running down my 12-year-old boy, who’s still in shock and is traumatized,” he said last week.
“I need something done about it – I’m not happy. I’ve been failed by the police. It gives other people the idea it is OK. It’s crazy, and it’s setting a bad example.”
“I need something done about it – I’m not happy,” the boy's father said about the fine given to Wright
Last week, Wright said he was living “in fear” after the incident. He has reportedly been receiving death threats on his phone over the last couple of weeks.
“My only comment is this is a police matter, and I am in fear for my life,” he told the outlet.
Wright’s neighbors and other residents told the Gold Coast Bulletin that they have been “on edge” and “scared” due to the “out of control” youth in the area.
Official data released last year revealed that youth crime rates have dipped over the years, as per statistics released by the Queensland Police Service.
The total number of unique youth offenders has decreased by 2% from the 2022/23 to 2023/24 financial year and by 18% since 2012/13.
The internet was divided over the incident, with some claiming the collision seemed “intentional”
