High-speed chase on Pau ring road: 27-year-old man sentenced to 30 months in prison
A man deliberately rammed a couple's vehicle multiple times between Laroin and Jurançon. Pau tribunal sentenced him to 30 months in prison.
Sentenced after ramming a couple multiple times on the ring road
According to Google News FR — Crime (fr), a violent high-speed chase took place during the night of Saturday 22 to Sunday 23 August, following the Gan festivities in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. The incident occurred on the ring road connecting Laroin to Jurançon, and the case was tried before the criminal court in Pau.
A 27-year-old man, driving a Peugeot 406, deliberately pursued a couple before ramming their vehicle multiple times over several kilometres. After another collision, the couple's car spun around before ending up in a ditch. The defendant then fled without stopping.
"I had never seen anything like it, it was a crazy scene, worthy of a Hollywood film," testified the male victim at the hearing. His partner described a "very violent" scene and said she had feared for her life: "I cannot sleep, I keep reliving the scene constantly." Both suffered minor injuries — cuts and trauma to the neck and head — but the outcome could have been far more serious, according to the prosecutor, who described the incident as a "bumper car game".
At the root of the chase, the defendant cited insults and a middle finger gesture from the couple. The woman, who knew him as a friend of her cousin, stated she did not understand the gesture and maintains she had never had conflict with him. The victim was moreover driving without a licence.
Before the tribunal, the young man explained that he had not stopped due to panic. Employed on a permanent contract since November 2025 as a gardener at a landscaping company, he cited psychiatric problems, coupled with alcohol consumption and a difficult family background. "I have enormous regrets. I apologise for what I did, I could have killed them," he declared before the court.
Pau tribunal sentenced him to 30 months in prison, of which 18 months were suspended with probationary supervision, as well as an obligation to undergo psychiatric treatment. Despite the prosecutor's recommendations, a driving ban was not imposed. "You came close to serving time, which would have cost you your job," the judge stated in explaining the decision.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)