Overview
- The attack occurred in October 2022 when Hollie Dance and her son Thomas Summers pursued a Peugeot from Southend to Basildon and forced the driver off the road, then struck him with a second vehicle.
- On Friday, May 29, 2026 the pair were sentenced at Basildon Crown Court with Dance jailed for four years and Summers for five years and both given multi-year driving bans.
- Both were convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and face related convictions: Dance admitted dangerous driving and was convicted of possessing a banned gas canister, while Summers pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was found guilty of affray.
- The victim suffered serious injuries including a fractured and dislocated shoulder and a fractured foot and denied the allegation that he had 'bottled' a family member in a statement read at trial.
- The case drew attention because Dance is the mother of Archie Battersbee, who died in 2022, but the judge rejected grief as an excuse and said the verdicts and sentences underline the legal and physical risks of vigilante reprisals.