Long Car Chase

Automatic Draft

The 30-year-old’s car.(Bild: DOKU-NÖ)

On February 9, a 30-year-old German man drove into a construction worker in a restricted construction zone; the worker narrowly escaped injury. He then engaged in a 160-kilometer car chase with the police. On Thursday, he was convicted of attempted murder at the Wels Regional Court—the verdict is not yet final.

Instead of sitting in the driver’s seat, a 30-year-old German man had to take his place in the defendant’s dock at the Wels Regional Court for the second time on Tuesday. The first trial on July 14 had been adjourned due to time constraints. On Tuesday, the proceedings against the reckless driver resumed.

A Long, Wild Ride
According to the indictment, the wild ride unfolded as follows: The A 25 (Wels Expressway) was closed on the evening of February 9 due to road marking work. There was a traffic jam stretching several hundred meters. The German man is said to have weaved his way between the waiting cars and along the shoulder and—ignoring a roadblock and LED warning lights—drove into the construction zone.

There, he allegedly drove toward a worker at 150 km/h, who was able to jump out of the way at the last second. The incident triggered a 160-kilometer police chase, during which the defendant allegedly drove at speeds of 200 to 240 km/h and repeatedly attempted to ram police cars.

Almost Impossible to Stop
It was only when he was finally driving on the rims that law enforcement managed to corner him. Defense attorney Michael Lanzinger spoke of his client’s “tunnel vision” during the first court hearing. The 30-year-old himself cited “financial stress” as the cause. His sister, on the other hand, suggested that he suffers from delusions and hallucinations. In addition to attempted murder, the prosecution also accuses the man of resisting law enforcement, attempted aggravated assault, aggravated coercion, and property damage.

No Intent
“One must be realistic enough to acknowledge that there will be a conviction. There are certain offenses that cannot be argued away—for example, the damage to police vehicles. However, I remain firmly convinced that my client had no intent here to even attempt to murder anyone,” Lanzinger stated. By noon, the jury had already retired to deliberate and disagreed with the defense attorney.

Shortly after 2 p.m., the verdict was handed down. The jury found the 30-year-old German man guilty of attempted murder. The man was sentenced to five years in prison. The verdict is not yet final.