A 24-year-old driver without a license sped away from police at 180 km/h (112 mph) on Vienna’s Ringstrasse in the early hours of Sunday, endangering pedestrians and running red lights. The young man had already been driving too fast before the chase, which is why officers tried to stop him around 2:00 a.m. at Parkring. At Schubertring, he nearly lost control of the car and drove toward a group of people waiting for a tram.
The pursuit led through several streets in the city center and back onto the Ring, police reported Monday. When the driver ignored several more red lights and turned into Eschenbachgasse, officers lost sight of the vehicle. Shortly afterward, they found the car unlocked at Schillerplatz.
The driver was later identified as a 24-year-old Austrian citizen whose license had already been revoked. Police initially only encountered the driver’s father, the registered owner of the vehicle, who retrieved the abandoned car, said police spokesman Markus Dittrich. The 24-year-old has been reported multiple times, including for endangering physical safety.
During the police operation in Eschenbachgasse, officers also had to deal with another case. A witness reported a drunk man causing a loud disturbance nearby. The man was uncooperative and aggressive. He was arrested, and a policewoman was injured during the detention.
