The incident blocked a busy motorway off-ramp in Wellington last year. Photo / Waka Kotahi NZTA
The incident blocked a busy motorway off-ramp in Wellington last year. Photo / Waka Kotahi NZTA
Weeks of tension erupted into a fiery blaze when a man sprayed his girlfriend's ex in the face with petrol before setting his car alight on a busy motorway off-ramp.
Aaron Neil Maclennan was sentenced in the Wellington District Court today on charges of reckless driving, assault and arson following the attack in May 2021.
The charges stemmed from a series of events that started with some text messages and ended two weeks later with a car on fire in a central Wellington suburb in the middle of the day.
The court heard Maclennan had a methamphetamine addiction and the drug was a driving force of his actions.
Judge Noel Sainsbury told the 30-year-old, who hasn't got any previous convictions, if he was to stay out of the courts, and prison, he would need to make a significant effort in fighting his addiction.
"Unless you do something about your meth issues, you're a menace to the community and to yourself," Judge Sainsbury said.
"If you don't sort it out it'll end badly."
Maclennan was sentenced today in the Wellington District Court. Photo / Hazel Osborne
The problems began on May 13 when Maclennan sent messages accusing his girlfriend of having an affair with her ex. Two weeks later the ex sent Maclennan aggressive text messages, calling him gay slurs and asking where he was.
Just before midday on May 27, MacLennan was out driving with his girlfriend, who was in the passenger seat, near the Basin Reserve in Wellington.
Pulling up at the lights, MacLennan and the ex noticed each other in the traffic which prompted aggressive driving from both men.
Chasing each other from the Basin Reserve to the Terrace Tunnel, Maclennan followed the ex onto SH1. The ex then took the first off-ramp onto Tinakori Rd, in an attempt to prevent further confrontation, according to the summary of facts.
However, Maclennan followed, driving over a grass verge and cutting in front of traffic at the busy motorway off-ramp to block the other cars' path.
The ex's car collided with the back of Maclennan's, causing damage, while both cars blocked the off-ramp, forcing traffic to wait or drive around the two.
Maclennan, his girlfriend, and the ex got out of the cars and the two men started throwing punches at each other in the middle of the road.
At one point the girlfriend attempted to break up the fight.
Maclennan retrieved a Powerade bottle filled with petrol from his car either before or during the fight, the summary said.
Holding the bottle in one hand and a lighter in the other, Maclennan sprayed the other man in the face with petrol, getting him in the eyes.
He then approached his car, spraying the remaining fuel into the driver's side before setting it on fire with the lighter. The car became engulfed in flames and was extensively damaged.
The ex punched Maclennan in an attempt to take his keys so he and his girlfriend couldn't leave the scene, but they held onto the keys and left anyway.
Members of the public called emergency services for the man who suffered minor injuries, including a cut to his forehead.
When police initially sought a statement from Maclennan after the incident, he denied the offending according to the summary.
Defence lawyer Kevin Preston acknowledged Maclennan's family who sat in the back of the courtroom and their wish of rehabilitation for him.
"She [his mother] wants her son back, the family want him back and that's not going to happen until the drug issue is addressed," Preston said.
Judge Sainsbury said he could imagine Maclennan's family was heartbroken to see him standing in the dock, and watch the person they know and love "turn into a life support system for addiction".
