After a Car Chase in Upper Austria with Crash: Investigations for Attempted Murder

A plainclothes police patrol attempted to stop the driver on the B1 (Wiener Straße) in Wels-West because he had crossed a solid line. However, the driver did not stop, but accelerated and fled.

Chase Ended with Crash and Multiple Injuries

He raced at speeds of up to 250 km/h through the foggy central region of Upper Austria, ignored red lights, performed "very dangerous overtaking maneuvers" according to the police, sometimes using the hard shoulder, and finally crashed at around 160 km/h into several stationary cars. Not only the driver and his passenger, but also two police officers and another road user were seriously injured.

Prosecutor Assumes Conditional Intent to Kill After Chase

Due to this "rampage" with numerous overtaking maneuvers, which endangered many other road users, the Wels public prosecutor's office assumes a conditional intent to kill. There were at least five specific situations involving 20 vehicles whose occupants were endangered, said public prosecutor's office spokesman Christoph Weber. These individuals now need to be identified.

The accused himself admits that he was afraid that serious or even fatal accidents could happen, Weber reported. However, he continued driving because he feared that he would not get his driver's license back, which had already been taken away from him earlier, for an even longer time and that his car might also be confiscated. The vehicle belongs to the 20-year-old, but it was not registered, and he had taken the license plates from his mother's car.

20-Year-Old in Custody After Chase

The public prosecutor's office has commissioned, among other things, a vehicle report, and the suspect's mobile phone has been secured, and a blood sample is being analyzed. The 20-year-old has been in custody since February 6th, initially until February 20th. Then there must be another custody hearing. Incidentally, the man also had a foot chase with the police during his arrest: When the officers stood at the door with an arrest warrant, he fled over the balcony but was apprehended shortly thereafter.

(APA/Red)

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