Zürich Court Sentences Road Rage Driver to Over Four Years in Prison
A 35-year-old man has been handed a 50-month prison sentence after deliberately ramming a cyclist on the Rosengartenstrasse and throwing a burning flare into a crowd at a Travis Scott concert.
The Bezirksgericht Zürich has sentenced a 35-year-old man to four years and two months in prison following two separate dangerous incidents that took place in 2023 and 2024.
The first incident occurred in April 2023 on the Rosengartenstrasse, where the defendant repeatedly tailgated and harassed a cyclist travelling in the centre of the lane. Travelling at nearly 50km/h and maintaining a distance of less than three metres, the driver eventually overtook the cyclist dangerously on the right side before swerving back and striking him. The collision was captured on a dashcam fitted to the cyclist's bike. The victim suffered a broken finger, a dislocated shoulder, and abrasions.
The prosecution had sought a six-year sentence for attempted intentional homicide, but the court found insufficient evidence that the defendant had accepted the possibility of killing the cyclist, convicting him instead of attempted grievous bodily harm.
The second incident took place in July 2024 during a Travis Scott concert at the Zürich Hallenstadion. The defendant, who had a blood alcohol level of 1.8 per mille, picked up a burning pyrotechnic flare from the ground and threw it into the densely packed crowd. A 16-year-old was struck on the head and suffered burns to his hand. The court again stopped short of an attempted homicide verdict, ruling that no direct intent could be proven.
The sentence takes into account a prior conviction, which increased the penalty, offset partially by the defendant's confession. The verdict was not unanimous — a minority of the court backed the prosecution's call for a homicide conviction. The ruling is not yet final and may be appealed to the Obergericht.
