Man found guilty of killing man who died two years after being punched at petrol station

A man has been found guilty of killing another man after punching him during a row at a petrol station. Tyren Pollard attacked Bernard Hirsch on the forecourt of the Asda petrol station in Marsland Road, Sale, in December 2017. Mr Hirsch was taken to hospital four days later and scans revealed he had a bleed on the brain.

The injury left him 'profoundly' disabled and contributed to his death two years later at the age of 43. Following a trial at Minshull Street Crown Court, a jury today (Wednesday, November 6) convicted Pollard, 52, of manslaughter and inflicting grievous bodily harm.

CCTV played to jurors showed the two men, both of whom had mobility issues, arriving at the petrol station from different directions on the morning of December 11, 2017. While filling up his vehicle, Pollard - who was driving an Audi A3 with his dog in the back - began shouting at Mr Hirsch.

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Pollard then walked towards the kiosk before turning and approaching Mr Hirsch, who was filling up his Jaguar at an assistance pump. Shocked witnesses said they then saw Pollard punch Mr Hirsch in the face before repeatedly striking him with his walking stick.

After heading into the kiosk to pay, Pollard told the cashier that Mr Hirsch did not “need to be at f****** pump six” and that "there was nothing wrong with him".

Petrol station staff went to check on Mr Hirsch, who had suffered a cut lip and was said to have been left "dazed and stunned".

Mr Hirsch returned home following the attack but did not tell his wife what had happened. However, in the days that followed, he began suffering severe headaches and vomiting.

After collapsing at home, he was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital, where scans revealed he had a bleed on the brain. Mr Hirsch spent nine months in hospital before he was eventually discharged in August 2018.

He was re-admitted to hospital with suspected COVID-19 on March 20, 2020, and died eight days later. A post-mortem examination gave Mr Hirsch's cause of death as 'COVID-19' but pathologists concluded that his head injury had also contributed to his death.

Interviewed by police in February 2018, Pollard claimed that he believed Mr Hirsch had hit his dog through the window of his Audi A3 when the two vehicles were stopped at traffic lights shortly before arriving at the petrol station. Giving evidence during his trial, Pollard admitted there had been an altercation at the petrol station, but denied punching Mr Hirsch.

He told the jury he now accepted that Mr Hirsch was not involved in the alleged prior incident near to Brooklands tram stop, saying, "I just saw a blue car behind me, I presumed it was him."

Michael Brady KC, prosecuting, told the court that the previous altercation 'never happened'. He said: "The reason you told the police about that incident was to paint Mr Hirsch in a bad light. Because you knew, despite what you told this jury, that you attacked him."

Pollard denied both charges against him but jurors rejected his version of events and found him guilty of manslaughter and inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Hirsch.

Pollard, of Newbury Avenue, Sale, will be sentenced on January 9 of next year. Granting him bail until then, Judge Maurice Greene told Pollard: "This is a serious matter and the sentence is very likely to be a custodial sentence. You understand that."