A van driver, Mark Okotie, is jailed after a court hears he deliberately ran over a cyclist during rush-hour traffic while delivering blood products to a hospital in south London. Woolwich Crown Court heard the incident happened on March 20, 2024, in New Cross Road, Lewisham, after Okotie moved his vehicle into the left lane and later turned sharply to hit the cyclist, with dashcam footage showing the moment.
Prosecutors told the court the cyclist spat at him and the spitting went through the open driver’s window. The court also heard Okotie was delivering blood to a south London hospital at the time, and that the cyclist suffered serious injuries requiring “numerous screws and plates” after fractures to the pelvis and femur.
Outlets largely focus on the same core details: the road-rage allegation, the dashcam imagery, and the jail sentence of three and a half years. Differences are mainly in emphasis and wording, with some reports highlighting the claim of deliberate action and the “sickening” footage, while another also includes detail about Okotie’s background mentoring young people.
