A POLICE investigation has been launched after a motorist was sprayed with what he believes to be a ‘bleach-like’ chemical substance during a road rage incident in Barnsley.
The 22-year-old male victim, who does not wish to be named, said he was driving with his fiancee on Doncaster Road towards Barnsley at around 9.30pm on Saturday when he was cut up by a speeding black Audi A3.
The Audi driver, who is described as an unshaven white male in his late 20s, flashed his hazard lights before coming to a stop.
“I thought he maybe had an emergency so I pulled to the side, wound my window down and asked what was up,” the victim, who had been at a family barbecue and was on the way home to Monk Bretton, told the Chronicle.
“He then spat into my car and into the face of my girlfriend, who was in the passenger seat. Obviously shocked and very angry because of his behaviour, I wanted to confront the driver but we called the police instead.”
But the ordeal was far from over for the couple, with the Audi A3 - which at this point was still driving in front of their car - veering and braking aggressively before speeding off.
However, just when they thought the incident had ended, he reappeared, overtook and deliberately forced the couple’s car into a bus stop before he allegedly reversed at speed towards them.
“To prevent a collision I had to try to reverse up the dual carriageway we were on into oncoming traffic to stop him hitting us. He then pulled alongside and the passenger of the Audi sprayed a chemical substance from their car into my car.”
The liquid landed on the victim’s face and arm but was immediately washed off with water and no injuries were sustained.
“We were very lucky - there’s a lot in the news about the damage chemicals cause and rising attacks. Because he was probably a metre or so in front, the windows weren’t side-by-side and that helped as all of the substance didn’t land where he intended.
“The smell was very distinctive and we immediately knew it wasn’t water. We were panicked and shocked - road rage is quite common but to have been put through this for no reason was terrible.
“After this, I got his registration plate and phoned the police, before he turned his lights off and sped off again.”
Police analysed the victim’s clothes, which had the substance on them, although the liquid’s identity remains unknown.
Another incident involving a black A3 a day later, which the police would not confirm as being linked to the road rage attack, is also being investigated after a 25-year-old pedestrian sustained life-threatening injuries during a fail-to-stop collision at around 11pm.
A police spokesman said: “It was reported a man in what is believed to have been a black Audi had sprayed a liquid at another driver before making off. No injuries were sustained in the incident.
“An investigation is currently ongoing and anyone with any information is asked to report. The liquid is not thought have been a chemical or noxious substance as the driver didn’t suffer any effects.
“Officers also engaged in a pursuit with what is believed to have been a black Audi A3 that failed to stop on Park Road in the direction of Cemetery Road, Barnsley.
“As it turned onto Wood Street, officers lost sight of the vehicle and the pursuit was abandoned. While conducting a search of the area, officers found a 25-year-old man near to the brow of the hill on Wood Street, who is thought to have been in collision with the Audi.
“Enquiries are ongoing and officers would like to hear from anyone who may have seen the collision, or a black Audi A3 with possible damage to the front, that may have been driving in a dangerous manner in the area around the time of the incident to report it.”
* Call police on 101, quoting incident number 1245 of May 5 if you have any information about the alleged chemical attack and quote 1192 of May 6 if you have information about the suspected hit-and-run.
