Magistrate slams elderly Pontiac Firebird driver punched by a cyclist in road rage attack

A cyclist who punched the driver of a classic 80s sports car in the face and broke his jaw has been let off without punishment after the magistrate found he had been provoked by the man.

Matthew David File, 47, was acquitted of assaulting retired great grandfather Graeme Gibb, 77, during a fiery confrontation in a Gold Coast car park last year.  

Mr File and a friend were on a morning ride in August last year when they were almost run off the road by Gibb as he drove past them in his 1983 black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.

Gibb stopped in the car park of Miami Hotel where he got out of his car to confront the cyclists.  

Bike camera footage of the incident and the heated exchange that followed was played in court on Thursday. 

‘What’s the matter with you pricks?’ Gibb could be heard shouting to the cyclists after pulling over.

File fired back: ‘You nearly hit me back me buddy.’ 

He then punched Gibb in the face, who suffered a broken jaw and was left suffering extreme headaches, anxiety and pain for months afterwards.

The court heard he also grabbed and threw Gibb’s car keys, which landed on the roof of a nearby liquor store.

File was charged with one count of serious assault when he handed himself to police a few days later after a photo of him and his grey Trek bicycle went viral online.

A magistrate found that motorist Graeme Gibb (pictured with daughter Alisha) was in the wrong

He admitted to punching Mr Gibb but pleaded not guilty to the assault charge, arguing he was provoked.

Magistrate Kerry Magee agreed and dismissed charges against File.

She added in her findings that it was Gibb who was in the wrong and had ‘demonstrated no insight at all into the dangerousness of his behaviour’. 

Footage of the incident showed Mr Gibb passed the cyclists with 20cm of space, well below the minimum one metre required under Queensland road laws. 

‘I am satisfied that that unlawful act frightened, alarmed and unnerved (Mr File),’ Magistrate Magee said.

The cyclist and his friend were almost run off the road by Graeme Gibb as he drove past them in his 1983 black Pontiac Firebird (pictured)

‘I find that this conduct deprived the defendant of the power of self-control.’ 

‘I accept that he was significantly shaken as a result when minutes later he has sought to confront (Mr Gibb).

A relieved File welcomed the magistrate’s decision.

‘We knew from the outset this was a matter that had to be contested to clear Mr File’s name,’ lawyer Troy Smith told reporters outside court. 

‘We knew from the outset that he was innocent.’

‘Mr File can now move on with his life and put this all behind them.’  

Cyclist Mathew David File admitted to punching Graeme Gibb during the confrontation (pictured) but argued he was provoked