Hollie Dance, 50, and Thomas Summers, 26, were today convicted of grievous bodily harm after a jury heard they chased their victim and rammed him off the road in October 2022
Archie Battersbee’s mother and her older son are facing a possible jail term after a man was rammed off the road in a “reckless and dangerous” attack.
Hollie Dance, 50, and Thomas Summers, 26, were convicted of grievous bodily harm by a jury at Basildon Crown Court today. Police say they chased their victim from Southend to Basildon in Essex before Dance – whose son Archie was at the centre of a protracted High Court legal battle as she tried to stop doctors withdrawing his life support – rammed him off the road in October 2022.
Summers then drove his Toyota at the victim before driving off. It came just weeks after her younger son Archie, 12, died on August 6, 2022. Dance believed he was participating in a dangerous “blackout challenge” online, which caused catastrophic brain damage, though a coroner later termed it an accidental “prank or experiment”. She had mounted a high profile but unsuccessful court battle to keep her son’s life support machine switched on.
Weeks after laying her son to rest, detectives from Basildon CID say a victim was approached by a group of people in a black Toyota Corolla before they blocked him in and attacked his vehicle with a baseball bat. CCTV, doorbell footage and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera footage showed the two vehicles had chased the victim’s red Peugeot.
He called the police while in the vehicle and was rammed by the BMW causing him to strike a tree on the central reservation. He was thrown from the vehicle onto the road where the Toyota was driven at him before it then drove off. When officers arrived at the scene the BMW was still there along with it’s driver, who officers identified as Dance, who was arrested.
Officers were able to identify Summers was driving the Toyota. He was arrested the following morning. During interview, Dance claimed she had been involved in a collision with the victim and was following him merely to exchange details, claiming it was actually her vehicle that was rammed. Summers refused to answer questions.
Dance, of Alton Gardens, Southend, and Summers, also of Alton Gardens, Southend, were charged with various offences. They both denied the charges but today Dance was found guilty of GBH with intent and possessing a weapon designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas, or other thing.
Summers was convicted of GBH with intent and affray. He was found not guilty of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. They are due to be sentenced on 29 May. Acting Det Sgt Amy Day, from Basildon CID and who led the investigation, said: “The actions of Hollie Dance and Thomas Summers were reckless and dangerous.
“They put the victim’s safety at risk but also that of other people on the road. They showed clear intent to hurt the victim and the reality is that the outcome of this incident could have had even more serious consequences. I am pleased that our thorough investigation has been able to hold them responsible.”
Another man 25 year-old Rhys Bentley, of Norwich Avenue, Southend, was found not guilty of GBH with intent, affray, and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
