Professional fighter steps in to defend teen girls from road rage attack

A professional Muay Thai fighter says he was “doing what every man should do” when he stepped in to protect two young girls who were approached by an incensed man on a Queensland highway.

Ryan McDonald, 19, was travelling in a car behind two teenage girls in a Hyundai i20 on the Bruce Highway near Landsborough on Sunday, when a van swerved and came to a stop in front of them.

Dash cam video shows a man in a blue shirt exit the van and approach the driver’s side door of the i20 and attempt to open it, prompting McDonald to intervene.

“At first I thought maybe they crashed, until he ripped open the door so then I jumped out,” the Wynnum man and professional fighter told nine.com.au.

“The first thing he said to me was, ‘Yeah c---, do you actually want to do this?’ and he was trying to swear at them, but I stood in the middle of him and the girls, so he was talking to me, not them.

“As a fighter, the last thing I want to do is fight someone in the street... worst possible outcomes can happen you know, all it takes is one punch and it doesn’t end well for either party.

“It wouldn’t be a thing that I’d be proud of, too, if I had to fight him.

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“I was just doing what every man should do and stand up for two young girls that can’t, you know, defend themselves against a crazed person on the side of the highway trying to rip their door open.

“I was like, ‘Bro, we don’t need to fight or anything’, like, ‘Jesus, just get back in your van and drive off. It’s not a big deal.’”

He said his training allowed him to remain calm and level-headed, even when the man took his shirt off, attempting to escalate the situation.

“I thought I’m just going to take mine off in case,” McDonald said.

“I had a hoodie on, and I didn’t want it to get pulled over my face if we did fight... you can’t see anything, like they can pull you around and we’re on the side of a highway, too, like he could pull me into traffic.”

Bystanders from other cars are also seen on the video coming to the girls’ aid.

McDonald said the man returned to his vehicle when it began rolling, having not had the park brake engaged.

Nine.com.au contacted police for comment, who said the incident had not been reported.