Inala cyclist road rage: Shelley Anne Alabaster pleads guilty in court

A driver who threatened to kill a cyclist during an early morning ride “weaponized his vehicle” by chasing him through vacant lots, breaking through front yard fences while neighbors slept, a court was told.

Shelley Anne Alabaster was captured on GoPro footage of the victim furiously revving her four-wheel drive and crashing into suburban fences, as the cyclist frantically called triple-0 for help.

Alabaster was not drunk and only had small amounts of marijuana in her system at the time.

She ‘chased’ the victim across the vacant lot and at one point threatened to kill him as he took refuge in the residents’ front yards.

“There is nothing about (the cyclist’s) behavior that could provide an explanation as to why she acted the way she did,” crown prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso told the Brisbane High Court.

Alabaster, 46, was behind the wheel of his 4×4 when he struck the cyclist on Wirraway Parade in Inala at around 3:30am on October 30 last year, the court was told.

Ms Kelso said the impact was not high velocity but ended up leaving him with bruises and swelling on his calf.

As the cyclist stopped, Alabaster began making ‘racial accusations’ and warned him to stay away, revving the car.

A woman (pictured) was originally charged with attempted murder after allegedly ramming her 4×4 into a cyclist in Inala, south Brisbane.

Neighbors captured footage of Alabaster revving the 4WD and chasing the cyclist.

She ‘chased’ the victim across the vacant lot and at one point threatened to kill him as he took refuge in the residents’ front yards.

Ms Kelso said Alabaster did not chase the cyclist at speed, but his revving engine, captured on the man’s GoPro camera and waking neighbors, “made it sound a lot more ferocious.”

“(The victim) tried to get the attention of people in some of the houses while calling triple-0,” he said.

I had a guilty fear… I had dry heaves.

Despite this, the court was told the victim had forgiven Alabaster and wrote an ‘extraordinary’ victim impact statement saying she wanted to see her ‘rehabilitated’.

“He might be entitled to feel outright enmity towards you… instead, he has made a remarkable request of me, to show the compassion I denied him,” Supreme Court Justice Peter Callaghan said.

He finds no peace in your imprisonment.

It is one of the most extraordinary documents I have ever seen.

Police initially charged her with attempted murder, but Alabaster pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of dangerously operating a motor vehicle, threatening violence at night and assault causing bodily harm while armed.

He also admitted to driving without a license and five counts of intentional damage.

She was charged with deliberately driving the man and then through several fences (one pictured).

Defense attorney Jakub Lodziak said his client had been an alcoholic since she was in her 20s and had experienced “trauma” growing up.

Previous entries in her criminal record frequently involved her being drunk and “misbehaving” with police, the court was told.

Alabaster’s couple of 15 years and their adult children were in court to support her.

“He is very aware of the difficulty that alcohol represents for her,” Lodziak said.

He said that she had been receiving mental health treatment during her 13-month period in custody prior to sentencing.

Lodziak said Alabaster was sorry and “ashamed” because she couldn’t explain her behavior.

In sentencing Alabaster, Judge Callaghan flogged her for the ‘uncivilized’ and ‘terrifying’ course of conduct towards the innocent victim.

“He turned his vehicle into a weapon and attacked an innocent civilian,” Judge Callaghan said.

Alabaster received a principal sentence of three years in jail but was immediately placed on probation.

She was disqualified from having a license for two years.