Jimmy Barnes’ wife exposes truckie who ‘wanted to fight’ rock legend after road rage incident

The wife of Australian music legend Jimmy Barnes has exposed a truck driver who almost got into a heated roadside brawl with the rock star. 

Jane Barnes said the couple were ‘bullied’ by a truck driver who wanted to ‘fight Jimmy on the roadside’ after an incident in Botany Bay, in Sydney’s south.

She named the truck driver in a furious Twitter thread and posted a close-up photo of his side profile that appeared to have been taken from inside her vehicle. 

‘Cut us off across our lane and swiped our mirror, Wanted to fight Jimmy on the roadside. Trucks are like weapons, bullies behind the wheel a danger to us all,’ she wrote, adding the hashtags #TOLL and #NOtobullies. 

Ms Barnes said the truckie had shared his details with the couple and that police had been called but that officers ‘couldn’t do much’ if there were no injuries or damages.

The couple had been driving home from a community cook-off hosted by OzHarvest, which provides food for people in need, when the incident occurred.  

One fan asked: ‘Who picks a fight with a rock star?’ 

‘Shouldn’t matter who it is. This guy was just a pig. Swearing, smug, ignorant, misogynist bully,’ Ms Barnes replied. 

The musician continued her rant on Instagram, writing: ‘When you drive a truck you’re in charge of a weapon. A bully at the wheel can kill people. 

‘More trucks on with bigger loads by the day. I hope the people in charge do something about this. He should not be driving a truck. 

‘Thank you Derek Leidl, driver of truck ahead, for being a voice of reason.’

Many sent their sympathies to the couple, with some said reading the tweet was ‘poignant’ after several primary school students were severely injured in a horror bus crash at Eynesbury in Melbourne’s west.

‘How awful, given the horrendous tragedy in Victoria, you’d think the swagger would be gone from such incidents. Good on you Derek,’ musician Paul Field said. 

The school bus was allegedly struck from behind by a truck and flipped on the corner of Exford and Murphys Rd at Eynesbury at about 3.40pm on Tuesday.

There were 45 children from Exford Primary School, which was located just 900m away from the crash site, who were onboard and heading home for the day. 

Nine children were seriously injured in the crash, with eight sustaining life-threatening injuries and two requiring limbs to be amputated.

Truck driver Jamie Gleeson, 49, has been charged with four counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury. 

Barnes, 66, has spent several months on bedrest recovering from emergency hip surgery which forced the rocker to cancel his summer tour. 

In March, he announced he would be starting a new band dubbed the Barnestormers, and would include Barnes, Chris Cheney and Slim Jim Phantom.

While it’s unclear when The Barnestormers will hit the road with their first tour, Barnes’ return to the stage will take place in May alongside the Australian Chamber Orchestra for the 50th anniversary of the Sydney Opera House. 

The rocker will perform with the ‘Jane Barnes Band’ on Saturday, with a string of shows scheduled for the rest of the year in NSW and Queensland.