Driver ‘tracked down’ and killed dad with one punch after he clipped his van

A father-of-two died after he was tracked down and punched by an angry driver after they were involved in a ‘minor’ collision.

Oliver Brown, 21 allegedly struck Stephen Walsh, 37, so hard he fell to the floor and cracked his head on the ground on his front doorstep.

Prosecutors allege the small amount of damage on Brown’s Vauxhall Astra van after ‘clipping’ it had left the defendant ‘pumped up and angry’ on July 29 last year.

Nottingham Crown Court heard Brown, a double glazing fitter, had been ‘circling the area’ following the bump and spotted Walsh’s Lexus on his drive after being ‘determined’ to track him down.

Brown, of, Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire, denies manslaughter.

His girlfriend, Rosann Newton, 21, of Nottingham, denies assisting an offender after allegedly giving false statements to police and deleting text messages from her mobile.

Text messages between Brown and Newton, read: ‘I really hope he’s not brain damaged’ which had been deleted from Newton’s phone.

Another message from Brown to his girlfriend read: ‘Anger got the better of me should of (sic) just pushed him.’

Mr Walsh’s fiancé rang 999 after finding him ‘stone cold’ upstairs the following morning and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The court was told Mr Walsh, of Mapperley, Nottingham, should not have been driving as he had drunk too much at a friend’s Christening earlier in the evening.

Outlining the events that led to the incident, prosecutor Sarah Knight, said Mr Walsh veered into the path of Brown, who was travelling with his girlfriend, while on his way home shortly after 10pm.

Ms Knight said they collided and Mr Walsh should’ve stopped at the scene but went home and sat down to watch Love Island, when Brown knocked at the door and hit him.

Ms Knight continued: ‘He was knocked out cold and unconscious.

‘The blow that Oliver Brown delivered to him and the impact it caused Stephen Walsh’s head… resulted in fractures to his skull and jaw.

‘These would lead to a bleed on the brain that would kill him just a few hours later.’

The prosecutor said Brown tried to make amends by picking up Mr Walsh and dragging him into the living room and resting him on the sofa.

He later told police Mr Walsh was drunk and aggressive and merely slapped him which caused him to ‘stumble’.

But Ms Knight said Brown did not act in self-defence.

She added: ‘He was pumped up and he was angry.

‘He simply wouldn’t let the situation lie.’

Newton told police Mr Walsh’s fiance Katie Brown had been ‘lashing out’ at her partner, punching him to the stomach and head.

But the prosecution said she did nothing to hurt her fiancé and called it a ‘vicious lie’.

The trial continues.