Audi driver sprayed tear gas at three people and abused woman during road rage incident in Northampton

An Audi driver who sprayed tear gas in the faces of three people during a road rage incident in Northampton was given a suspended sentence yesterday (Wednesday, September 29).

Bogdan Sima called a female driver a 'stupid b****' for not getting out his way on Military Road in 2019 before attacking her, her sister and her partner with the illegal weapon.

The 27-year-old, of Fraser Road, was given a 33-week jail term, suspended for a year, at Northampton Crown Court after previously pleading guilty.

The prosecutor said: "All three parties were caused quite serious alarm and distress as their statements suggest their initial impression was it was acid."

The woman driving with her sister in the front passenger seat and her partner in the back on the evening of October 11, 2019, when the attack happened.

She turned into Military Road where a parked car was blocking the other side of the road but an Audi had come from the opposite direction, causing a stand-off.

The woman gestured for the driver, Sima, to reverse as it was her right of way but instead he pulled up to her open window and she repeated her request.

The defendant, who is originally from Romania, gestured for her to go to the left, saying: "Listen you stupid b****, there's space to the left of you, move over."

Sima tried to get past anyway, causing the woman to worry about him scratching her car, so she took photos of his licence plate and asked her partner to talk to him.

The man got out of the car and approached the defendant's vehicle to ask him to move - the driver became agitated and sprayed him with a substance.

The partner got back in the car saying his eyes were burning, Sima reversed his vehicle and the woman followed, pulling her window up at the same time.

But the partner had not done the same so as they pulled level with the defendant again, he again sprayed the substance towards the car, which landed on the faces of the two women.

They pulled up on nearby Bailiff Street and washed their faces with water from a Chinese takeaway before getting more bottles of water from a shop and calling an ambulance.

The trio were all taken to Northampton General Hospital for treatment, where the doctor ascertained it was pepper spray that had been used on them, causing burning sensations.

Sima was arrested after police found his car and a CS spray canister in the driver's door but he denied any involvement so the victim had to pick him out in an identification parade.

After being charged , the defendant initially pleaded guilty to having the tear gas, which he thought was legal as it is legal in Romania, but not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm to the three victims at the crown court on June 23.

But at a hearing at the same court on July 26, ahead of a trial, Sima also admitted assaulting the driver - the other two charges has been disposed of.

Liam Muir, defending, said his client should be given an opportunity to prove himself as his life has 'moved on dramatically' since the offence nearly two years ago.

Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane sentenced Sima to 33 weeks in jail for possessing a prohibited weapon and 27 weeks concurrently for the assault, both suspended.

The defendant will also have to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days as well as paying £500 in compensation and the £156 surcharge.