Again

Five home pupils went on a joyride with a BMW

A police check ended the 370-kilometre joyride through half of Austria (symbolic photo)

(Bild: Pressefoto Scharinger/Daniel Scharinger/Pressefoto Scharinger © Daniel Scharinger)

Again: Two teenagers stole a BMW in the district of Liezen (Styria) on Monday night and took it on a 370-kilometer joyride, which only ended in Oed near Amstetten (Lower Austria) when a patrol stopped the runaways. A total of five young people were involved, who are in residential care in the district of Kirchdorf an der Krems (Upper Austria).

On Monday night, February 10, unknown perpetrators stole an unlocked car worth tens of thousands of euros in the district of Liezen (Styria). According to initial investigation results, two suspects (15 and 16 years old) are believed to have traveled to Weißenbach near Liezen by public transport. Once there, the Upper Austrians stole an unlocked car that was parked directly in front of a residential building at around 2.40 am. They had been looking for it specifically.

Ignition key was in the car
With the stolen car - the key was in the vehicle - the duo drove to Upper Austria. In the district of Kirchdorf an Krems, three other young suspects got into the stolen car. The five Upper Austrians initially continued their journey together in the direction of Vienna. The car was driven by the youngest of the group, the 15-year-old. One of the passengers (16) got out again in the Kirchdorf/Krems area. 

The joyride ended after seven hours
At around 9.30 a.m., highway patrol officers from Amstetten (Lower Austria) spotted the stolen BMW and, after a short chase, stopped it on the A1 at the Oed exit near Amstetten.

Cross-provincial cooperation
The Liezen criminal investigation department initiated the manhunt. Several patrols were involved. The car theft was quickly solved thanks to the cross-provincial cooperation between the Amstetten highway police, the Upper Austrian road crime task force and the Kirchdorf an der Krems police station.

15-year-old was remanded in custody
The suspects have already all been questioned in the presence of their legal guardians and legal representatives on suspicion of car theft. The Leoben public prosecutor's office finally ordered the 15-year-old to be taken to Leoben prison. The others involved will be reported to the public prosecutor's office at large.