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'At no point did I assault the driver.'
Aldrin Sampear during the premiere of Mufasa: The Lion King at Ster-Kinekor Eastgate in Johannesburg on 12 December 2024. Picture: Gallo Images / Oupa Bopape
Newzroom Afrika anchor and former Power 98.7 FM broadcaster Aldrin Sampear finally responded late Thursday night following an alleged road rage incident earlier in the day.
The purported victim, a 20-year-old woman, laid charges of assault against the presenter.
Aldrin Sampear denies assault
However, Sampear alleged that the video she made of the incident was edited.
“I can confirm that I was an involved in a minor accident this afternoon.
“It happened after a driver tried to cut in-front of me when the taxi ahead of them stopped. There was an exchange of words from both parties when we were stationary,”
ALSO READ: TV news anchor Aldrin Sampear charged with assault
“I’m horrified to see an edited version of the video because I actually went to my car to go fetch my phone and license to share with the driver,” he responded to The Citizen in a text message on WhatsApp.
“At no point did I assault the driver. We have exchanged details.
“I have reported the matter to the police and my legal team will deal with this factually and honestly,” Sampear added.
Watch the video of the incident below:
Aldrin Sampear involved in road rage incident
The alleged victim, Johannesburg resident Laricia Augusto told The Citizen she was travelling to university on Jan Smuts Avenue.
“I was in the left lane, minding my own business, and he was cruising somewhere behind me in the right. Then, as it tends to happen with Joburg traffic, a taxi up ahead slammed on brakes in front of me.
“So I indicated and moved over into the right lane,” Augusto said, adding that in her judgement, Sampear was far enough behind in the right-hand lane for it to be safe.
“Or so I thought,” she remarked.
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Augusto further explained that as she changed lanes in front of Sampear, he started to accelerate.
“He practically glued himself to my bumper, hooting aggressively.
“I had no idea what his issue was, but to avoid any drama, I moved back into the left lane to let him pass. That’s when things turned nasty.”
She alleged that without warning, he swerved into the left-hand lane.
“Nearly into my car. I veered left to avoid him, thinking it was just some reckless driving but then he did it again, this time deliberately clipping the right rear side of my car.
“I nearly lost control but managed to stabilise. As I was slowing down, he swerved sharply in front of me, cutting me off.
“There was no time to react and I hit him at an angle on his rear tyre.”
‘He grabbed my arm’
Augusto said that as both parties exited the car, Sampear came out already shouting, gesturing wildly.
“He was screaming at me. I tried to defend myself, pointing out that what he did was deliberate road rage.
“I even told him there was more than enough space for him to have driven safely,” she said.
That’s when things escalated, according to the woman.
“He grabbed my arm. I immediately started recording him. That’s when I realised this wasn’t just a fender bender and that this was something else.”
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In the video, Sampear accused Augusto of flicking a middle-finger at him, which she admitted.
“You can see him pointing in my face, shouting nonstop. He pushed me, grabbed me again, and hit me,” she said.
“I was terrified and genuinely afraid he might seriously hurt me but I tried not to show it. I kept as calm as I could.”
‘Just drove off”
Eventually, Augusto said, he calmed down.
“I still tried to be civil, and we exchanged details. Then he announced he was leaving. He said he had a meeting and didn’t want to wait around.
“I called my dad, and my cousin came to assist. When he realised help was arriving, he insisted again that he had to go and just drove off.”
Sampear denied assaulting Augusto during a phone call with The Citizen a few hours after the incident, but admitted that there was “some truth” to other aspects of the encounter.
He asked for a moment to pause the conversation and requested that the journalist call back.
On the second call, Sampear then asked for further questions in writing to which he responded five and a half hours later.
Five years ago, the broadcaster admitted that he had assaulted women before.
He chalked it up to being provoked at the time but claimed he had since outgrown that behaviour.
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