An entitled BMW driver filmed nearly running over two cyclists faces up to four years in prison and had his beloved car confiscated.
Samir Sweiss was arrested by Newport Beach Police in California who tracked him down from footage the cyclists posted online.
Police released bodycam footage of Sweiss being dragged out of his home in Corona, California, in handcuffs and his car being towed away.
He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and obstructing or delaying arrest.
Professional cyclist Luke Fetzer posted the footage of himself and Ben Byra being tailgated by the blue BMW M3 along East Coast Highway on March 21.
Fetzer said he squirted water at the car in retaliation after ‘these guys had just tried to kill us’, but that prompted the driver to ‘try to run us off the road’ and his passenger threw a water bottle at them.
Sweiss made matters worse by messaging Fetzer on Instagram calling him a ‘peasant’ for cycling and challenging him to an MMA fight to ‘settle this like men’.
‘Haha you’re a f**king dork, pro cyclist 20$ (sic) thinks it’s ok to spray gatorade at a $100k car, hope you enjoyed the soaking wet bike ride home peasant,’ he wrote.
‘Hey bro lets both sign waivers and meetup for a consensual Full MMA sparring session, let’s settle this like Men.’
Luke Fetzer and Ben Byra (pictured) were riding in the bike lane on the East Coast Highway in Newport Beach when an angry BMW driver dangerous tailed them
Police released bodycam footage of BMW driver Samir Sweiss being dragged out of his home in Corona, California, in handcuffs
Sweiss was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and obstructing or delaying arrest
Police also confiscated Sweiss’ beloved blue BMW M3
Sweiss made matters worse by messaging Fetzer on Instagram calling him a ‘peasant’ for cycling and challenging him to an MMA fight to ‘settle this like men’
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will decide whether to prosecute Sweiss. No court dates are yet on the court’s online database.
Fetzer and Byra were training for a race the next day when the BMW M4 swerved into the bike lane behind them and began tailgating the pair.
‘The driver honked at us, swerved at us, and then the passenger rolled down his window and yelled slurs at us,’ Fetzer said.
Fetzer and Byra found themselves stopped next to the BMW at a set of traffic lights moments later, with Fetzer admitting that he squirted his water bottle at the car because he was angry.
The small act of retaliation by Fetzer would make matters worse, enraging the driver further, who Fetzer claimed then ‘tried to run us off the road.’
Fetzer started filming the situation for his and Byra’s safety.
Byra held his arm out toward the car behind in a ‘why’ gesture as the blue car sped up on him.
The car, which did not have a front license plate, tailed Byra for a moment before the cyclist was forced to hop the sidewalk to safety.
After running Byra off the roadway, the car then sped up and tailed Fetzer in the bike lane before speeding around him
Fetzer said the car and another later stopped in the Shake Shack line up head, which was spilling into the roadway, and attempted to ‘tackle’ them
The men said a driver and passenger in a black and red sports car also hurled slurs at them and attempted to harm them
Seconds later, the blue BMW sped back up to catch up with Fetzer in the bike lane before driving past him and throwing a water bottle at him. The car then sped up again while the passengers flipped the men off.
Fetzer said in a follow-up video that the BMW, as well as a black and red Corvette, continued to harass them for several miles.
The two luxury cars later stopped and joined the line that was spilling into the roadway and bike lane at Shake Shack.
‘Cars will usually park and wait in line at Shake Shack, blocking cyclists, which is fine. We move to the left and we go around,’ Fetzer said.
‘But this time, these four individuals got out of the cars, ran into traffic, pushed into the two right lanes, blocked us, they told us that they were going to kill us, and tried tackling us.’
Fetzer said the men were also aggressive toward two other cyclists on the road.
