Woman Driver May Face Jail After Jeremy Vine 'Road Rage' Case

Shanique Pearson was found guilty of threatening behaviour

Warning: video contains a lot of swearing

The verdict was announced at Hammersmith Court in the case involving 22-year-old Shanique Syrena Pearson from south-east London, who had pleaded not guilty.

She was convicted of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, and also found guilty of driving without reasonable consideration for other road users. The mother-of-one had also previously admitted driving an unlicensed vehicle.

She was released on bail and will be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court at a later date.

According to a BBC report, Pearson, who has a number of previous convictions including assaults and theft, may face prison, as she was already subject to a suspended sentence.

District Judge Timothy King said he believed Jeremy Vine to be a "credible, truthful and reliable" witness while "his manner of cycling was perfectly appropriate for the conditions."

Pearson's defence lawyer James O'Keeffe told the court she had been "racially abused and suffered substantially" as a result of the video being posted online. He said the involvement of the television and radio presenter had made the case far more high profile than it otherwise might have done and had affected her life.

After the verdict Mr Vine tweeted his thanks to the police and the CPS.

Judge King said the court would decide whether the suspended sentence "should be activated in whole or in part."

The mother-of-one told reporters outside the court she was "not happy" following the verdict. Mr Vine had claimed in his evidence that Pearson, the driver of a Corsa jumped out of the car and threatened him at one point saying "Take a picture of me again and I'm going knock you out."

Vine claims that at the end of the incident while pulling away: "She made a finger of her right hand into a gun and mocked fired at me." He claimed that her actions made him fear for his safety.

Mr Vine was riding his bicycle in Kensington, on 26 August when the incident happened. The video, which was viewed more than 15 million times on Facebook, was captured on Vine’s bike-mounted cameras.

February 1, 2017