New Zealander Tamate Heke found not guilty of manslaughter in road rage case

Tamate Heke is seen arriving at the Supreme Court in Brisbane today. Photo / AAP

A New Zealand man accused of the manslaughter of a driver with a history of road rage has been found not guilty of manslaughter by a Queensland jury.

But Tamate Heke was found guilty of unlawful striking causing death. He had denied unlawfully killing Shane Merrigan on Brisbane's Gateway Motorway on December 1, 2015.

The Brisbane Supreme Court jury took half a day to decide Heke had been provoked when he punched the 50-year-old, causing him to fall onto the road and into the path of a truck.

Heke on the side of the road after the incident. Photo / 9 News

It was the second time Heke had been on trial for manslaughter, after a jury failed to reach a verdict in 2017.

The court heard the factory worker had been driving home from a 12-hour shift when he was tailgated and challenged to pull over at Eight Mile Plains.

He told police Merrigan came at him, pushed and punched him, before he retaliated. Heke also told investigators he tried to grab him as he fell and he "didn't mean it".

Crown prosecutor David Meredith had argued throughout the trial that Heke threw a "heavy punch in anger" and was not trying to defend himself.

Meredith said Merrigan hadn't touched the defendant.

During a bail application for Heke in December 2015, the court heard Merrigan had a history of road rage.

His former employer said it had had multiple complaints from the public about road incidents between 2010 and 2012.

Victim Shane Merrigan. Photo / Supplied

The company paid for a defensive driving course for him, but two of the complaints against Merrigan happened afterwards.

He was given a formal warning in 2011, when a note was attached to his file confirming he had been counselled and asked to modify his driving.

Heke is expected to be sentenced on Friday by Justice Peter Applegarth.