The drama, though, was short-lived, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
The victim immediately sped up then slammed on the brakes, which sent 46-year-old Aaron Kevin David Tukiaora-Edmonds tumbling off.
He subsequently pleaded guilty to assault, disorderly behaviour and intentional damage, and had spent a couple of months behind bars ahead of sentencing.
Counsel Chris Lynch said Tukiaora-Edmonds had come to Dunedin for a fresh start but it was a reversion to old ways that saw him back in the dock.
After consuming alcohol on the afternoon of September 21, he was walking along Main South Rd where he picked up a road cone.
The defendant flung it at three women sitting outside an art gallery and continued south.
At a service station, Tukiaora-Edmonds confronted the attendant who ran inside in a bid to escape.
The defendant followed and threw numerous punches at the victim’s upper arm and face before pushing over a chip stand and wandering off.
He continued his drunken jaunt into the middle of the road outside, causing a vehicle to stop.
Tukiaora-Edmonds jumped on to the bonnet and held on for a brief ride, the court heard.
Police found him just metres away at a bus stop.
The driver described the fiasco as "like something out of a horror movie" and said the defendant continued to chase him as he sped away.
The victim of the assault met Tukiaora-Edmonds for a restorative justice conference and accepted an apology.
He said he was "shaken up" after the attack.
At the meeting, the defendant spoke about his goals for the future: to abstain from alcohol and live a healthy life.
He wanted to attend rehabilitation and further his education, the court heard.
Probation, however, said the most recent crimes exhibited an escalation in Tukiaora-Edmonds’ conduct.
Judge David Robinson noted he had chalked up similar convictions over the previous two years.
Tukiaora-Edmonds was jailed for eight months.
If an appropriate residential-rehabilitation programme was found, that penalty could be converted to home detention, the judge ruled.
