A man who hit the taxi driver with a glass bottle to avoid paying the £18.95 fare for his journey was given a six-month suspended sentence.
Kai Ingham, 23, was also charged with criminal damage after trying to smash the taxi window on 24 October 2020, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
The taxi, which was driven by Mr Tela, picked Ingham up at New Lane in Doncaster and was meant to be taking Ingham to Mexborough.
Instead, Mr Tela was attacked by Ingham, who became aggressive after refusing to pay for the taxi.
He later grabbed and hit Mr Tela after failing to escape the vehicle.
Amy Earnshaw, prosecuting, said: “Mr Tela was struck across the back of the head, he felt lightheaded and drowsy.
“The defendant was shouting and swearing.”
Ingham, of Athelstane Road, Conisbrough, is disabled and has spinal cord damage.
He is also the father of a two-year-old child.
Barrister Daniel Ingham, defending, said: “He has depression and anxiety and is on medication for this.
“She [the mother of Ingham’s toddler] has a limited family who can care for the child.”
Ingham, who was 20 at the time of the offence, had no previous convictions, and pleaded guilty to the criminal damage and use of a weapon charges.
In his statement, taxi driver Mr Tela said: “If the defendant had ran off without paying, it wouldn’t have been the end of the world.”
Mr Tela went to the Northern General Hospital for an assessment after the attack.
Judge Sarah Wright condemned Ingham’s failure to pay the taxi fare and attack on the driver, which she called ‘so serious’.
She said: “You attacked a taxi driver, striking him with a bottle.
“You caused him anxiety about doing his job and he suffered a loss of earnings.”
The judge did accept that there was a ‘reasonable prospect of rehabilitation’ for Ingham.
Ingham, who recently moved into his mother’s house, was given a residence condition on his suspended sentence by the judge.
He will be ordered to live at his current address for at least a month.