WESTLOCK – A 29-year-old man faced the consequences of a violent road rage attack that left a man with a broken nose.
On Nov. 27, Tyler Mayer appeared in Westlock Court of Justice for a contested sentencing hearing. On Aug. 28, he had pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm in an incident that occurred on Highway 44 south of Westlock around 10:54 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2023.
“The [victim] is just a random citizen who was driving down the highway with his family,” said Crown prosecutor Eric Mosley. “A civilian should feel safe to travel on a highway in Alberta without being assaulted. What increases the gravity of the assault was that there was a child in the vehicle with the complainants.”
Court heard that Mayer had been tailgating them, flashing his headlights, and crossed the centre line before pulling in front of their vehicle.
Following this and the vehicles had pulled over, Mayer exited his vehicle and approached the driver's window of the complainants' car. A verbal confrontation quickly escalated to physical violence when Mayer punched the driver in the face, breaking his nose. The victim also sustained a chipped tooth.
Mosley asked the court for a 180-day Conditional Sentence Order (CSO), with the jail time to be served in the community. He described the incident as a "random assault" that resulted in a serious injury and emphasized the need to send a message of denunciation and deterrence to the public. He said the presence of a child in the vehicle was an aggravating factor, as well as suspicions of alcohol use contributing to Mayer's behaviour.
“I think jail is required to achieve denunciation to this offence.”
He said Mayer’s guilty plea is a mitigating factor as the case was previously set for trial.
Defence lawyer David Keyes, however, argued for 18 months of probation and a conditional discharge.
“One hundred and eighty days for someone who stepped out of character one time in a frantic fit of rage is not appropriate and is in fact a little harsh," said Keyes, adding that it was an isolated occurrence and not indicative of a pattern of behaviour. Mayer doesn’t have a criminal record.
The complainant’s wife’s victim impact statement was read into the court describing the psychological toll the random assault has had on her.
"I no longer feel safe speaking to people I don’t know in public. My faith in humanity has been affected," she said.
The complainant himself also described suffering from anxiety attacks since the assault and is more observant now of people and his surroundings.
Justice Gordon Putnam said he found that a CSO was appropriate and imposed a 90-day CSO, with the first 45 days to be served under house arrest, followed by 45 days of curfew. Mayer will also serve 12 months of probation, and a DNA sample will be taken as required for a conviction of assault causing bodily harm.
“I’m not prepared to agree with a conditional discharge," said Justice Putnam. "I don’t think in the circumstances it is appropriate. It’s not in the public interest in this case because it is a crime of prevalence. You can call it road rage, an interaction by people in circumstances where the fuse goes from zero to off the charts very quickly. In a circumstance where there are children in each vehicle, random people who don’t know each other, then ultimately a confrontation and injuries through violence.”
Justice Putnam said the accused needs to be held accountable given the seriousness of the offence and the injury to the victim.
