Escape from police

Speeding through Vienna: driver jailed for 2 years

The driver fled from the officers at 170 km/h (symbolic image).

(Bild: ©lexpixelart - stock.adobe.com)

In July, a Viennese man raced through Vienna in a friend's car with complete recklessness and had a wild chase with the police. There are now consequences: The man was sentenced to two years' imprisonment at the Vienna Regional Criminal Court on Friday morning. 

During his drive in July, the Viennese endangered passers-by, some of whom had to jump to the side, and sped towards a police car at 170 km/h. The sentence is already final. 

Several pedestrians endangered
The 23-year-old, who has not had a driver's license for some time, was at the wheel of his friend's car. When the two were stopped by police officers, the man panicked - and stepped on the gas. He ran red lights several times, pedestrians on crosswalks had to jump to the side to avoid being run over. At times, the car driver also drove into oncoming traffic.

Crash with police car narrowly avoided
The car owner, who was on board as a passenger, asked him to finally stop the mad dash for fear of his life. However, the 23-year-old didn't think about it and continued to speed away. Unbraked and without swerving, he shot towards the radio car at 170 km/h. It was only thanks to the fact that the driver of the police car turned the steering wheel to prevent a collision that the fatal crash did not occur.

Construction workers saved themselves behind a crane
Things then became dramatic when the car with the 23-year-old behind the wheel sped towards a fully occupied construction site on Matzleinsdorfer Platz. The construction workers saved themselves behind a crane at the last second. The crash into the construction site also stopped the speeding car and the man was arrested.

I apologize to everyone I hurt or could have hurt.

Der 23-jährige Lenker

The 23-year-old, who has since been remanded in custody, "fully confessed" but did not want to give any further details. The man, who was not sitting in court for the first time, apologized "to everyone I hurt or could have hurt". He was in a panic - "I didn't realize that".

If the police had carried out the check, he would probably only have been fined for driving without a license. As it was, the 23-year-old now had to answer for resisting public authority by serious coercion, attempted grievous bodily harm and endangering physical safety.