A California driver has been arrested after a terrifying road rage clash that was caught on video and left a professional cyclist saying he thought he could be killed.
Police say Samir Sweiss, of Corona in Riverside County, was arrested on March 26 after investigators looked into the violent encounter in Newport Beach.
According to authorities, Sweiss was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and obstruction or delay of arrest. Police also seized a blue BMW M3 from the home as evidence.
The shocking incident happened around 11 a.m. on March 21.
Video from the scene shows a blue BMW sedan riding dangerously close behind a cyclist in a bike lane. At one point, the cyclist is forced to jump a curb to avoid the car. As the BMW passes, someone inside appears to throw a water bottle at him.
The cyclist in the video was later identified as professional rider Luke Fetzer.
Fetzer said the terrifying encounter had already been escalating before the viral footage began. According to him, the BMW driver first swerved at him in an intersection, then shouted slurs before reaching the next traffic light near Pacific Coast Highway.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:
Fetzer admitted that when tensions boiled over, he sprayed water from his bottle onto the car in the heat of the moment.
But he said things quickly went from ugly to dangerous.
After that, Fetzer began filming, saying he did it for his own safety.
And according to him, the nightmare was not over.
Fetzer said that a few miles later, at a Shake Shack, four people got out of their cars and blocked the cyclists. He claimed they threatened to kill them and tried to tackle them.
He said two other cyclists who were not part of the original confrontation stepped in during the chaos.
Police were eventually called to the scene, and one cyclist was hurt badly enough to need medical treatment and be taken to the hospital.
Bodycam footage from the arrest later showed officers taking a handcuffed suspect into custody.
Discover more from True News Media
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Driving in the bike lane is already a hefty fine and many points on your license if caught doing it. Driving in the bike lane when it is occupied with cyclists is automatic suspension of license, and adding road rage to that, the perp will likely spend time in prison as well, which he/she should and no insurance company should insure him again – and so bye-bye BMW too.
Whoever this was driving should do prison time and lose their license for at least a year after they are released from prison. Then the passenger who threw that bottle out at that speed should also be sentenced to at least a year. That could also seriously hurt someone. What is wrong with people fighting, hurting people over nothing. But it’s California and the judges their are all trash so I would bet they will all get absolutely nothing, what a sewer for a state.
Totally agree – on all counts.