D6 road-rage driver may have threatened a family in 2022, police say

Police in the Karlovy Vary Region have reopened an investigation into an incident on the D6 motorway between Karlovy Vary and Sokolov that took place on Oct. 7, 2022. The case was previously treated as a minor offense; now detectives have launched criminal proceedings on suspicion of extortion.

According to available information, the driver of a Volkswagen Transporter repeatedly pushed a Citroën Berlingo out of its lane and forced its driver to stop on the shoulder, then verbally attacked the passengers. The car held two children and two adults, said Petr Havlíček, a prosecutor at the district prosecutor’s office in Sokolov. He could not yet say whether the driver’s actions were aimed directly at the children or whether they were present during the confrontation after the stop.

Sokolov police began criminal proceedings on Tuesday, Oct. 27, said Jakub Kopřiva, a spokesman for the regional police. Police are asking for the earlier decision to shelve the case to be overturned and have asked the Sokolov municipal office to return the case file. Police are not disclosing the suspect’s identity and promise further details once circumstances allow.

The Sokolov prosecutor’s office learned of the old incident from police in the Central Bohemian Region, who are investigating the current attack on a woman driver on the D6. “They came to us and found that we knew nothing about it,” Havlíček explained. He admits the legal classification may change: “I’m thinking more of dangerous threats, but I’ll decide after the investigation.” Everything will depend on witness interviews, after which it will be decided whether to start a criminal prosecution or shelve the case again.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz