Andrej Szaruta death: Tailgater jailed for road-rage
A man has been jailed for 16 years for killing an ex-Royal Marine sergeant within sight of his family, hitting him with his BMW in a road-rage attack.
Andrej Szaruta, 63, was struck in June on the A303 near Stonehenge in Wiltshire and died in hospital. The driver, Tarkan Agca, 24, of Watford, Hertfordshire, admitted manslaughter at a hearing at Winchester Crown Court in December. Sentencing him, judge Mrs Justice May, said he was a "dangerous" offender. Decorated veteran Mr Szaruta, from Bridgwater, Somerset, had been travelling to London with his wife Susan and daughter Rachel for a Father's Day and birthday celebration with their son Christian. Mrs Szaruta told an earlier hearing how Agca "tailgated" them, prompting her husband "to tap his brake to indicate the BMW shouldn't be so close". She said the BMW then undertook them before "squeezing" in front of them and braking so hard that it was like an "emergency stop". The two drivers pulled over to a slipway by the A303 Solstice Park services but when Mr Szaruta walked over towards the BMW, he was hit by the car and thrown into the air. During his military career Mr Szaruta gained medals for serving in the Falklands War, he served two tours in Northern Ireland, and received a NATO medal for his services during the Bosnian war. Agca, a labourer, had 13 previous convictions for 28 offences, with several relating to cases of road rage that involved him tailgating and attacking other vehicles. In a statement, Mrs Szaruta said she suffered flashbacks. "I have lost my husband, my best friend and have to cope with the trauma of what happened," she added. Mrs Justice May told Agca: "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." "Your actions have changed their lives forever."