TV News Anchor and Former ‘The River’ Star Aldrin Sampear Caught in Road Rage Incident

• Popular TV journalist Aldrin Sampear trended on social media this week when he was caught in a road rage spat
• A 20-year-old Johannesburg woman has reportedly charged Sampear with assault after the road rage incident
• South Africans took to social media this week to react to the video of the former The River star and news anchor

News anchor Aldrin Sampear is reportedly facing assault charges following a road rage incident on Thursday, 17 April 2025, in Randburg.

The Newzroom Afrika newsreader trended on X on Friday, 18 April, when a video of his road rage incident was shared on social media. Newzroom Afrika also piqued netizens' interest last year when another of their anchors, Thami Ngubeni, exited to join eNCA.

The Citizen reports that Sampear, who was featured in the last season of The River, was in a road rage with a Johannesburg resident, Laricia Augusto, who alleges that she was travelling to the university on Jan Smuts Avenue at the time of the incident.

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The 20-year-old woman alleges that Sampear engaged in aggressive behaviour following a minor collision.

In the viral video, Sampear confronts the woman and questions her about allegedly giving him the middle finger, while she accuses him of hitting her.

The TV personality reveals to IOL that there was an exchange of words from both parties when they were stationary.

"I’m horrified to see an edited version of the video because I actually went to my car to go fetch my phone and license to share with the driver. At no point did I assault the driver. We have exchanged details."

Sampear adds that he's reported the matter to the police and his legal team will deal with this factually and honestly.

Entertainment blogger and journalist @TVwithThinus shared a video of Sampear's road rage video on X on Thursday, 17 April.

South Africans respond to the news anchor's video

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@tshepom619 said:

"Aldrin should’ve handled this better. Accidents aren’t about who’s right or wrong. Hopefully, they both find peace for the sake of his reputation."

@EvansMathibe said:

"I understand where Aldrin is coming from, and makgowa love to test us in such circumstances. In my opinion, Aldrin was far too nice, because I would have snapped her middle finger off."

@yangamessi responded:

"Eish being famous can be a curse sometimes, because if this was an ordinary person, this would never have went to SAPS."

@MLANDO60870174 replied:

"This is what we call GBV. He must be taken off air. He can't attack women like this."

@TheGeopol wrote:

"Wh*te people are the pettiest terrible drivers on South African roads. They’ll do you dirty, then cry wolf when you moer or confront them for their misbehaviour."

The River storyline frustrates viewers

In more entertainment news, Briefly News previously reported that viewers of The River were getting tired of the dragging storylines of Angelina and Paulina that has been going on for months.

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The show trended on Twitter with people threatening to boycott the show if Paulina is not given her baby back soon.

Fans of the telenovela said Paulina deserved to be happy, and they were sick of seeing the character miserable.

Proofreading by Roxanne Dos Ramos, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.

Source: Briefly News