Forbarr’s Hallwright tells his side of road rage story

High profile Forsyth Bar equities analyst Guy Hallwright was sentenced to community work today over a road rage incident in late 2010. In December 2010, the Fosyth Barr broker gave his only media interview on the incident. It is repeated below - Editor.

High-profile investment banker Guy Hallwright was concerned for his daughter and trying to escape an attack when he accidentally drove over an angry motorist.

“I did not instigate the incident, the other guy did,” Mr Hallwright, a respected senior Forsyth Barr analyst known for his media commentaries, told National Business Review today.

“Basically, I drove away to avoid him. My daughter was in the car, I was concerned about her and I was trying to avoid an attack,” he said.

He said media reports of the incident were one-sided and based on a police summary that did not tell the whole story.

The police summary used in the district court when name suppression was refused was not a balanced statement of facts, Mr Hallwright said.

“In the police file there are witness statements which give different versions of the early stages which police have not taken into account in their summary,” he said.

Mr Hallwright, who yesterday lost a High Court fight for continued name suppression, was charged with reckless disregard for the safety of another, causing grievous bodily harm, following an altercation with Song-jin Kim at the city end of Auckland’s Mt Eden Rd, near Galbraith's Ale House, in September.

Police allege Mr Hallwright ran over Mr Kim, then drove away from the scene, before dialing 111, returning and handing himself into police.

“It’s fair to say my view is that the other party was the instigator and the accident happened as I was trying to escape,” Mr Hallwright said.

Mr Hallwright said allegations of interchanges between himself and Mr Kim “were not true, but I don’t want to get into details before trial.”

He said the other man [Mr Kim] came over to his car yelling and pounding on the bonnet.

“He was shouting. I don’t know what he said - I’m not sure he speaks English.”

“I maintain I was not guilty, I have pleaded not guilty - which immediately indicates I don’t agree with things as they are portrayed - and the case will be defended.”

Mr Hallwright is a past chairman of the New Zealand Society of Investment Analysts, and a current director and shareholder in Horizon Publishing, publisher of Carbon News.

After working overseas he returned to New Zealand as head of research at First NZ Capital, then director of telecommunications research at Credit Suisse First Boston Australia before joining Forsyth Barr in 2005.