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