Bristol men jailed for car attack on NHS worker

Two men jailed over car attack on NHS worker Two men have been jailed for severely injuring an NHS worker after hitting him with a car.

Phillip Adams, 26, and Patrick James, 22, were convicted by a jury at Bristol Crown Court on 27 September for conspiring to "unlawfully and maliciously" inflict grievous bodily harm to Katungua Tjitendero.

Mr Tjitendero, 25, was hit by a blue Honda Accord on the afternoon of 22 July 2020, near Southmead Hospital in Bristol, shortly after finishing a shift there.

Adams, of Southmead, Bristol, was sentenced to six years in jail, while James, of Lawrence Weston, Bristol, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years for their role in the attack.

Mr Tjitendero had been walking to a bus stop along Monks Park Avenue when the car mounted the pavement and hit him, forcing him onto the windscreen and pinning him against a wall.

Mr Tjitendero suffered a fractured fibula, fractured nose and lacerations to his head and both shins in the incident, the court was told. His injuries were so severe he required extensive plastic surgery.

Eyewitness Alison Adams described how the two men who ran from the vehicle had their hoods pulled up, with one wearing a "Scream" type mask, and the other with a scarf over his face.

Upon sentencing, Judge Moira Macmillan said: "You were wearing face coverings and a racial slur was used by one of you, then you ran away.

"You were celebrating a job well done.

"This was a terrible thing to do to another person. It's been very hard to understand your behaviour."

The jury was told the case was not being prosecuted as a racially-motivated crime, but the defendants' comments gave an impression of their state of mind.

Mr Tjitendero had chosen to be an essential worker in the midst of a pandemic to help serve his community.

Judge Macmillan said as a result of the attack, he had been subjected to online speculation that he is involved with gangs and drugs, which had further contributed to his anguish.

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