Gunshots stopped him

Car Chase Through Vienna: “Like a Video Game”

The defendant damaged several vehicles with his 435-PS race car.(Bild: Krone-Collage/zVg, stock.adobe.com null)

When the police approached after a minor rear-end collision, the driver of an Audi lost his temper. The reckless drive lasted about 20 minutes, putting numerous people in serious danger. And landing the 50-year-old in jail. The reason for the getaway?

This car chase kept all of Vienna on the edge of their seats in early August and caused major traffic chaos. At around 2 p.m., a 50-year-old man in his 435-PS sports car engaged in a wild car chase with the police between Floridsdorf and Schwechat, which was only brought to an end after three shots were fired.

Two women quickly jumped out of the car
Even after three patrol cars had already surrounded the speeder, he continued to drive back and forth wildly. The man, who works in the real estate industry, has no explanation for why he fled from the officers. “That was utter nonsense,” he insists as the defendant in the Vienna Regional Court. There was no reason.

However: He had previously been in the city at a jewelry store to sell a counterfeit Rolex for a friend. Afterward, while sober, he was involved in a minor rear-end collision with a taxi on Jedleseer Straße in the 21st district. When a patrol car approached, the man lost his cool.

The whole thing was completely reckless, but his driving skills were impressive.

Anwalt Werner Tomanek

Bild: Anja Richter

A woman and her daughter quickly jumped out of the Audi SQ8, then he floored it. He raced through the city at well over 130 km/h, constantly changing lanes and directions, and grazing other cars. Miraculously, there were no serious accidents.

The car was gone, but the driver’s license wasn’t
“It’s just like watching a video game,” commented the judge after she played the footage of the high-speed chase during the trial. “His driving skills were indeed impressive,” Tomanek agreed.

Interestingly, the car was temporarily impounded after the chase, but the man—who was remanded in custody—was allowed to keep his driver’s license.

That could still change, however, because following his sentence of 18 months of partially suspended imprisonment (3 months of which are to be served), the 50-year-old faces numerous administrative proceedings and likely hefty fines in the wake of his reckless driving spree.