Disabled driver ‘dragged from car and beaten black and blue’ after tree crash

A driver claims he was dragged from his car and beaten by another motorist after suffering a seizure at the wheel and slamming into a tree.

Louie Watkins, 23, tried to hold on to the gear lever to stop himself being hauled from the wreck, but claims he was eventually pulled out with the stick still in his hand. 

The trainee engineer, who has epilepsy, then curled into a ball while his alleged attacker punched and kicked him as he lay on the ground.

He was taken to hospital with multiple injuries including a black eye after the incident near Northfleet, Kent, on Saturday (February 7). Police arrested a 47-year-old man on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm at the scene. 

‘I was driving along after I had left my girlfriend’s house at about 8.45am,’ Louie said ‘I suffer from epilepsy, and I felt like a seizure was coming on. It was very scary, and I believe I was swerving across the road. 

‘I spaced out, and I did not know what I was doing. The next thing I know, I woke up to my car being in a bad crash with a tree.’

What happened next has left him traumatised. He says a man in a blind rage was trying to force his way into the vehicle. 

‘As I looked to my right, I saw a man beating on the window, trying to pull open the door,’ he said. ‘I am holding onto the gearstick and the door to try to stop him from getting in while he is yelling repeatedly: “Open the f****** door.”

‘I tried to phone my dad but the man manages to open my driver’s side door and pulls me out, while the gearstick on my car is pulled from the box. 

‘I am still not quite with it, but I am explaining that I need help as I am coming out of a seizure. 

‘I am on the floor in a ball, trying to cover myself after he starts punching me in the face and booting me in the ribs.’

When Louie regained awareness again, blue lights filled the road, and it had been sealed off.

‘The man was on the other side of the road, while his wife was trying to apologise to my family, who had arrived,’ he said.

Louie was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital, where he spent around six hours being treated in a trauma ward. ‘I had a CT scan as they thought I had internal bleeding, but it came back clear,’ he said.

‘They told me to take time off work for about two weeks and to go home and rest.’

Louie is a registered disabled motorist and had his last seizure about 18 months ago. He passed his driving test last year after waiting a full year without seizures, as required by law. The DVLA is aware of his condition.

A police spokesperson said: ‘Officers were called to New Barn Road near Northfleet at 8.52am on Saturday, February 7.

‘Officers attended and closed the road while they investigated the circumstances.

‘A 47-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm. He has been released on conditional bail pending further inquiries.’

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or might have relevant dashcam footage is urged to call police on 01474 366149.

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