Road rage case postponed; warrant cancelled

UPDATE: 30 July, 11am:

The warrant of arrest issued for the road rage accused was cancelled after the man appeared in court.

His lawyer explained that he did not hear his name being called and apologized to the court. The judge then cancelled the warrant of arrest and extended his bail.

A new court date has been set for 21 August.

UPDATE: 30 July, 10.30am:

A warrant of arrest has been issued for the 42-year-old man.

Fourways Review journalist Varushka Padayachi was in court and saw the suspect with his lawyer outside the court, but said when the court called the case, the suspect failed to appear.

The suspect’s lawyer still wants the case to be heard today.

The suspect, in the company of his legal team, turned himself in to police on 29 July following the incident which took place on the afternoon of 28 July on Witkoppen Road at the intersection of Montecasino Boulevard.

UPDATE: 29 July, 3pm

The Porsche passenger involved in the Witkoppen road rage incident has handed himself over to the Douglasdale police.

According to Warrant Officer Balan Muthan, head of communications for the Douglasdale police, the 42-year-old suspect handed himself over at the Douglasdale Police Station in the presence of his legal representatives.

Warrant Officer Muthan said the suspect has been charged with common assault and malicious damage to property and will appear in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on the morning of 30 July.

UPDATE: 29 July, 1.30pm
A Fourways resident who was himself accused of road rage earlier this year, has commented on the violent road rage attack on Witkoppen Road.

The resident, whose identity is known to Fourways Review but who wishes to remain anonymous, was accused by the Ramiah family of intimidating and verbally abusing them on Witkoppen Road in May this year (‘Fourways family falls victim to road rage’ Fourways Review, week ending 30 May).

Subsequently, the resident came forward, on the grounds of anonymity, to tell his side of the story (‘Road rage accused speaks out’, Fourways Review, week ending 13 June) .

Of the latest incident, the resident said that he had watched the infamous video of the Porsche passenger who alighted from the vehicle to intimidate a motorist who had allegedly hooted and made a lewd gesture to him.

The resident said he was also aware that the Porsche passenger assaulted the motorist off-camera.

The resident explained that his first reaction to the video was one of shock, but that there are always two sides to a story.

“I wondered what the other guy [the motorist] did before the guy in the Porsche got out of the car,” he said.

“I don’t think that guy [the motorist] is as innocent as everybody thinks.”

The resident referred to his own experience, saying it was very frustrating to have the accusation of being violent and racist levelled against him. He added that in the case of his retaliation to the Ramiah family cutting him off, his reaction was so quick, it was as if he “just snapped”.

“I grew up in the way that if someone makes you angry, then you hit back,” he said.

“Rather don’t create a situation where someone can lose their temper.”

The resident believes that if the Porsche passenger has another side of the story to tell, he should come forward and not be afraid to speak out about what really happened.

Read about this incident here:

Road rage accused speaks out

Fourways family fall victim to road rage

UPDATE: 29 July, 11.30am:

The incident in which the passenger of a Porsche alighted from the vehicle and intimidated a motorist, occurred on the afternoon of 27 July and was filmed by another motorist and passenger. Snyman said that the person who filmed the video, which has since gone viral, was not a member of E-Blockwatch at the time, but submitted the video to the organisation – and by the next morning [28 July], Snyman uploaded the video onto E-Blockwatch’s Youtube channel.

Snyman said that the video was filmed on a cellphone, and while the video did capture the intimidation of the motorist, the person filming the video dropped the cellphone as the Porsche passenger started to physically assault the motorist, who cannot be named due to the an ongoing case.

The Douglasdale Police were able to track down the Porsche passenger from the video and the registration number of the Porsche, and are following up on charging the suspect with assault. Snyman said the power of technology and social media was helpful in this case, and that by creating a digital footprint they were able to find the road rage suspect. Snyman added that by spreading the word about the attack and creating media hype, they were able to turn the case into a priority for the police, whereas it may not have received the same attention without it.

“E-Blockwatch is like a web that spreads out to track down criminals,” Snyman said. “You can call it a crime web.”

UPDATE: 29 July, 9am:

The Douglasdale police have confirmed that they know the identity of the Porsche passenger who intimidated a motorist caught on camera on Witkoppen Road.

The road rage incident occurred on 27 July and since then the video of a Porsche passenger intimidating a motorist who had allegedly hooted at him for throwing something out of his window has gone viral. 

It is alleged that the Porsche passenger also assaulted the motorist off-camera. Numerous news agencies have reported that a manhunt is underway for the suspect who is wanted for assault, however Warrant Officer Balan Muthan, head of communications for the Douglasdale police said the police know the identity and the address of the suspect.

Muthan said when police officers went to the suspect’s home he was not there. “The matter is now being followed up on by the Douglasdale police,” he said.

28 June, 1.30pm:

A video of the incident was posted on YouTube with the comment, “We witnessed an assault on Witkoppen this afternoon [27 July 2014].” It explained that a driver of a Porsche in the video was driving recklessly down Witkoppen Road towards Fourways from Sunninghill.

At one of the traffic lights the passenger of the Porsche threw something out of the window at the car behind them. When the driver of the targeted vehicle hooted, the Porsche driver proceeded to swerve his car in and out in front of the other car until coming to a stop at the next traffic light. The passenger of the Porsche then got out of the vehicle, and started to kick the other car door and side mirror.

“I recorded most of the event except where the thug repeatedly punched the other driver in the face,” the comment continued. “We stopped and helped the other driver find his keys and calm down.”

This is not the first road rage incident to have taken place on Witkoppen Road. In May this year the Ramiah family experienced a case of road rage and verbal abuse after they overtook a bakkie, only to have the driver follow them down Witkoppen Road and alight from his vehicle to punch their driver’s side window. (Fourways family fall victim to road rage, Fourways Review, week ending 30 May)

The Paulshof Security Initiative posted the road rage video on their Facebook page with the caption, “This happened in our neighbourhood. I certainly hope he is not one of ours.”

Warrant Officer Balan Muthan, head of communications for the Douglasdale police, confirmed that the victim of the attack did report the incident to the police on 28 July, and that a case had been opened at the Douglasdale Police Station and was being investigated.

Want more? Read this story: Fourways family fall victim to road rage