Police stopped two drivers under the influence of alcohol over the weekend. One caused an accident in Ozalj and fled, while the other swerved on a state road in Istria.
Two separate incidents involving drunk drivers marked the first weekend of August on Croatian roads. In Ozalj, a 47-year-old man with a high 2.31 promille of alcohol in his blood caused a traffic accident and fled, while in central Istria, police stopped a 55-year-old who was swerving on state road D48 with 1.71 promille.
The most dramatic event took place on the night of August 2-3, 2026, in the Ozalj settlement of Trg. According to the Karlovac Police Department report, a 47-year-old driver of a passenger car with Karlovac license plates was driving too close to the left edge of the roadway. As a result, at 11:10 PM, he veered off the road and hit a parked car on a gravel shoulder.
The impact was so strong that the parked vehicle was pushed into another car, which was in front of the driveway to a family house. The accident caused material damage to a total of three vehicles. Instead of stopping, the driver continued driving and left the scene. However, his escape did not last long, shortly after, he lost control again, slid into a drainage ditch, and ended his escape attempt there.
Police officers removed him from traffic and placed him in special holding cells until the effects of alcohol wore off. He will face sanctions in accordance with the provisions of the Road Traffic Safety Act.
A day earlier, on August 1, 2026, a similar case was recorded in Istria. Police officers from the Pazin Police Station with the Buzet branch stopped a car with Zagreb license plates at around 10:05 PM on state road D48, near the village of Ruhci. The driver attracted attention because he was not driving in the middle of the marked lane but was swerving across the road.
A breathalyzer test revealed that the 55-year-old was driving with 1.71 promille of alcohol. To prevent him from further endangering traffic safety, he was also removed from traffic and will be held accountable for the offense.
