Man jailed for road rage killing of former Royal Marine in 'sight of his family'

10 January 2020, 12:25 | Updated: 10 January 2020, 12:38

A labourer has been sentenced to an extended prison sentence of 16 years at Winchester Crown Court for the manslaughter of ex-Royal Marines sergeant major Andrej Szaruta.

Tarkan Agca knocked Mr Szaruta "high into the air" with his BMW after a road rage incident on the A303 near Stonehenge in Wiltshire in June 2019.

Prosecutor Kerry Maylin told the court Mr Szaruta was travelling with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Rachel, in his Mercedes along the A303 near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, heading to London for a Father's Day and birthday celebration with their son, Christian.

She said that Mrs Szaruta described how Agca, 24, "tailgated" behind them prompting her husband "to tap his brake to indicate the BMW shouldn't be so close".

Mrs Szaruta said the BMW then undertook them before "squeezing" in front of them before braking so hard that it was like an "emergency stop".

Ms Maylin said the two drivers then pulled over to a slipway by the A303 Solstice Park services and Mr Szaruta walked over towards the BMW where he was hit by the car and thrown into the air.

She said Mr Szaruta's daughter witnessed the incident and told police: "My dad had his hand on the bonnet, he went up on the bonnet and high up into the air.

"Dad was carried a car length on the bonnet."

Ms Maylin said another witness saw Agca driving away "far in excess of the 70mph limit" and "skipping between cars".

Ms Maylin said Mr Szaruta died later in hospital from a head injury.

The court heard that Agca had 13 previous convictions for 28 offences with several relating to road rage incidents which involved tailgating and attacking vehicles and in one incident, he spat at a driver.

Sentencing Agca, the judge, Mrs Justice May, told him: "You drove at him, in effect using your car as a weapon, causing him to suffer the injuries that led to his death, all in the sight of his family."

She added: "Your actions have changed their lives forever, no sentence I pass can bring back Mrs Szaruta's husband and their children's father."

The judge added that she considered Agca as a "dangerous" offender and said he needed to address his "serious anger management issues".