Wild chase

Running red lights at 140 km/h in Vienna: “Stupid idea”

The accused 24-year-old in the Vienna Regional Court.(Bild: Martin Jöchl)

A 24-year-old had a wild chase with the police in Vienna in October. The young man, who had no driving license and was under the influence of drugs, sped through the city at speeds of up to 140 km/h - driving through red lights and against one-way traffic several times. "I stepped on the gas out of fear," he says in the trial for intentional endangerment of the public and coercion.

The accused 24-year-old sits with his head down in the Vienna provincial court on Tuesday. The slim man dropped out of technical college and is currently completing an internship. "My client works hard, has a partner and his own apartment. The incident is grossly disproportionate to his previous life," argues his defense lawyer.

The approximate route of the speeding driver during his escape from the police.(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Driving without a license
"It was a stupid idea. I wish I could undo it," the young man remembers back to October 6, 2023. On that autumn evening, he got behind the wheel of a Porsche rented from a friend, despite not having a driver's license and having taken drugs. 

I stepped on the gas out of fear. It was a short-circuit action.

Der Raser im Gerichtssaal.

Crashed e-scooter as the trigger
Because he had no driving experience, he hit the rear wheel of an e-scooter in Vienna-Neubau at around 7 pm. The police witnessed the incident. "My colleague went up to the slow-moving Porsche and told the driver to stop," said a young female police officer as a witness. The defendant did not comply with the request.

When the patrol put on their blue lights, the 24-year-old sped off. "I stepped on the gas out of fear. It was a short-circuit action," says the speeding driver. The wild chase against one-way streets, through red lights, over streetcar station islands and at speeds of up to 140 km/h in the inner city lasted 13 minutes.

The police pursued the Porsche for 13 minutes (symbolic image).(Bild: Porsche)

Miraculously no injuries
"That's almost three times the speed limit. There is no road on which such a speed is permitted in Austria," Judge Philipp Schnabel wants to know whether it is true that more than ten people had to jump out of the way as he sped towards them, even though they were crossing the crosswalk on green. "I didn't see anyone who had to jump to the side," says the accused, who admits, however, that he can no longer remember exactly. "It was just a lucky coincidence that the other road users were unharmed," said the prosecutor, demanding a conviction for deliberate endangerment of the public and coercion, punishable by up to ten years in prison. 

It was just a lucky coincidence that the other road users were unharmed.

Die Staatsanwältin in ihrem Plädoyer.

Stopped by a parked car
The chase finally ended in Borschkegasse in Alsergrund, where the young man rammed into a parked car: "It was thrown five to six meters away," reports Mr. Rat. Because two police officers were excused on Tuesday, the trial was postponed until April 30.