In mid-July, a Viennese man raced away from a civilian patrol car on the Südosttangente (A23) at 200 km/h and on cocaine in his Audi RS7. During the chase, the officers skidded and collided with another car, injuring several people. He had to appear before the Vienna Regional Court on Wednesday.
“I was under a lot of stress,” the car hooligan explained to the jurors on Wednesday. Before getting behind the wheel on July 19, 2023, he took “three or four doses” of cocaine, the 34-year-old said. He had “a lot of pressure”.
„Psychotherapy on the tangent“
“The case was no longer running, I recently lost my girlfriend,” the suspect outlined his initial situation to a jury. “Ah, psychotherapy on a tangent,” Judge Nicole Baczak then remarked sarcastically. Baczak described the defendant as playing “cat and mouse” with police while on “coke” and endangering the lives of other road users.
Lawyer Marcus Januschke explained that his client had fully confessed to all the accusations leveled against him: deliberate threat to the public, bodily harm, serious damage to property and resistance to state authority: “He is ashamed.”
Despite a red light, I drove away
Apparently to relieve stress at night, the 34-year-old had taken the Audi RS7 into use at 11 p.m. At an intersection, a police officer driving a civilian emergency vehicle noticed that the vehicle, which cost more than 150,000 euros, was making “loud exhaust noises”, as the officer now explained as a witness. He therefore wanted to conduct a vehicle inspection. When the driver noticed that the police officer – the officer was wearing a uniform – got out of his vehicle and drove towards him, he accelerated and drove away, even though the traffic light was red.
Wild chase
A wild chase along the tangent ensued. The speeding offender ignored the blue lights of the police. Instead, he pushed the police officer away when he tried to overtake him on the Prater Bridge, causing the officer to skid and crash his car into an uninvolved car, which ended up in the guardrail. The four occupants of the car – including two children – were slightly injured in the accident, the officer escaped with minor injuries.
“Cold Turkey” in custody
Regardless of the accident for which he was responsible, the speeder continued its journey to the Eleventh District before being stopped and arrested at the intersection of Leberstrasse and Geiselbergstrasse in Simmering thanks to a tip from a witness who called the police. He has since been in custody and gone “cold turkey,” the 34-year-old said. He has lost both his business permit and his driver’s license and due to his anger he has already been issued administrative fines totaling 10,000 euros.
24 months in prison
Ultimately, the man was sentenced to 24 months in prison on the full extent of the charges. He received this because of his confession and his carefree past life, with a probationary period of three years. He must also complete outpatient drug treatment and probation support has also been ordered. The lawyer and the public prosecutor agreed and the verdict is therefore legally binding.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
