Passers-by fled

Car crashed into plague column on Wiener Graben

(Bild: Martina Münzer, Krone KREATIV)

On Monday evening, a van crashed into the plague column on Vienna's Graben. Fearing another terrorist attack, passers-by fled into stores. The reason, however, was a drunk driver - who refused to calm down even after his arrest.

In view of the terrible reports from Magdeburg, Munich and just today Mannheim, it is no wonder that the driver gave passers-by in the pedestrian zone on Graben a good scare: As witnesses reported, Viennese and tourists fled into the surrounding stores when the minibus steered into the 21-meter-high work of art.

Drunk driver tried to flee, continued to rampage at the post
After the shock, however, the all-clear was quickly given: according to the police, it was not a case of terror, but a drunken 35-year-old. As the "Krone" learned, he wanted to flee the scene in his drunken state. However, he was arrested after about 20 meters and continued to riot at the police station ...

The 35-year-old may have mistakenly driven onto the ditch with the small truck that he had previously stolen from a building site and apparently wanted to drive on. Due to the large number of passers-by, however, he was only able to drive a short distance at a time and then braked. Eventually, police officers also became aware of the man. The Austrian citizen then crashed the truck into the plague column.

No one was injured. It was initially ruled out that the man had intended to drive into a crowd of people. When questioned, the driver appeared to be mentally disturbed and was taken to a psychiatric hospital for further assessment. A breathalyzer test revealed a blood alcohol level of 1.2 per mille.

No damage was found to the plague column or the van, which had been towed away in the meantime. Only the barrier chain around the steps to the pillar was torn from its anchorage at one point.