Deliveroo driver fatally stabbed in road rage attack, court told

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A Deliveroo driver was fatally stabbed in a road rage incident by a van driver who was “simply not prepared to let matters rest”, a court has heard.

Chef and part-time deliver driver Takieddine Boudhane died at the scene of the confrontation in Finsbury Park, north London, on the evening of January 3, 2020, the Old Bailey heard.

His alleged attacker, plumber Nathan Smith, 28, fled to Austria the following day, jurors heard.

He returned from continental Europe after 17 months and on Tuesday stood trial at the Old Bailey for murder.

Opening his trial, Julian Evans QC said Mr Boudhane, 30, had been riding a moped and Smith was in a VW caddy van when they both came to a stop at traffic lights in north London.

Both turned right into Lennox Road when something happened that upset Mr Boudhane who drove alongside the van, jurors were told.

From CCTV footage, it appeared the men exchanged words and the encounter was “not a friendly one”, Mr Evans said.

Seconds later, Smith stopped in Charteris Road where Mr Boudhane and another moped rider had parked nearby, jurors heard.

The court heard Smith acted “aggressively” and emerged with a knife in hand, while Mr Boudhane was said to have a screwdriver.

Smith went “on the attack” after the moped driver swung out with his crash helmet to ward off him off, jurors heard.

Even when the incident appeared to end, Smith was “simply not prepared to let things rest there”, Mr Evans said.

He told jurors: “When you analyse and consider the sequence of events the CCTV shows, it demonstrates that what Mr Smith continued then to do had nothing whatsoever to do with self defence.

“Rather it shows he was the aggressor. He ran at Takieddine a number of times with knife in hand.”

Describing the fatal incident, the prosecutor said: “As Smith ran towards him, Takieddine swung his crash helmet towards Smith. This action, again say the prosecution, was defensive.

“As Smith stepped onto the pavement, he ducked below the swinging crash helmet, and swung his knife twice, in quick succession, towards Takieddine’s upper body.

“It is the prosecution case that one of those two rapid blows with the knife, each delivered with force, entered Takieddine’s chest.”

Despite suffering a 7.5cm wound, Mr Boudhane and the other moped rider ran after Smith and hit the side of the van with their crash helmets as he drove off, the court heard.

Mr Boudhane then collapsed on the ground and despite the efforts of medics at the scene, he died at 7.42pm.

Meanwhile, Smith drove home and said nothing to his family about what had happened, jurors were told.

The next day, he allegedly used his brother’s passport and bank card to take a flight from Luton airport to Austria.

When police searched for him at his parents’ address, the defendant’s father showed them a video believed to be from his son featuring views of lakes and mountains.

Police went on to recover Smith’s van and allegedly found bloodstains matching the victim’s DNA.

In February 2020, an arrest warrant was issued for Smith, who remained in Europe for 17 months.

On June 3 2021, the defendant met British officers at Lisbon International airport who accompanied him back to the United Kingdom.

Smith, of Archway, north London, denies murder.