Perth: A Perth father has spoken of the terrifying ordeal in which he was allegedly struck repeatedly with a metal baseball bat and dragged from his car during a violent road rage attack in the city’s southern suburbs.
The incident occurred at about 2pm on Wednesday on Beeliar Drive near Hammond Road in Success, where 40-year-old Isaac Ladha was driving his Holden Cruze to work.
According to Mr Ladha, the confrontation began after the driver of a Toyota Camry behind him repeatedly sounded the horn while the vehicles were stopped at traffic lights. He said the other driver then overtook his car before manoeuvring it into a position where he could no longer drive away.
Speaking to Media, Mr Ladha alleged the man got out of his vehicle, opened the boot and retrieved a metal baseball bat before launching a brutal assault.
“He opened his boot and took out a big metal baseball bat,” Mr Ladha said.
“I was trying to get my mobile phone to record what was happening when he hit me straight across the face. Everything went black and I could only see with one eye.”
Mr Ladha said the alleged attacker then dragged him from his vehicle by the neck before striking him several more times on the head and ribs.
“He dragged me onto the road and came back to hit me again with the bat. After that, I lost consciousness,” he recalled.
Emergency services rushed to the scene after receiving reports of the assault. Paramedics treated Mr Ladha for significant head and upper-body injuries before transporting him to hospital, where he remained under observation. He is expected to be discharged after receiving treatment.
The father said first responders feared he might not survive his injuries.
“I could hear someone saying, ‘We’re losing him, we’re losing him’,” he told Media.
Mr Ladha paid tribute to a woman who stopped to help him, saying she cradled his head in her lap and kept talking to him in an effort to prevent him from losing consciousness until paramedics arrived.
He also thanked other motorists who remained at the scene, although some later apologised for not intervening because they feared for their own safety.
Fremantle Detectives arrested a 46-year-old man in nearby Hammond Park shortly after the incident. He has been charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and was granted bail. He is due to appear before the Fremantle Magistrates Court at a later date.
