The 26-year-old fled police during a nighttime drive, and the court fined him €2,700 and banned him from driving for six months. Split police consider the sentence too lenient and have announced an appeal.
A real nighttime drama unfolded on the streets of Split on Friday when a 26-year-old Dutch national, behind the wheel of a Mercedes C 63 S AMG, fled from police and ran seven red lights in the process. Although the Split police sought a prison sentence and the permanent confiscation of the vehicle, the court fined him €2,700 and imposed a six-month ban on using his foreign driver's license in Croatia.
The incident began around 3:10 a.m. when police officers spotted a car with Dutch license plates and an unusual sight: the front-seat passenger had climbed out of the sunroof and was lying across the windshield. The police immediately issued a stop order, but the driver ignored it and suddenly accelerated.
A chase ensued, during which officers, with lights and sirens activated, attempted to stop the Mercedes again. The driver continued to flee, covering the route from Ulica Hrvatske mornarice to Velebitska ulica in just a few minutes. Along the way, he ran seven red lights, knowingly risking serious consequences.
Due to the danger that the reckless driving posed to the driver himself, the passenger, and all other road users, the officers called off the chase to avoid causing a traffic accident.
Although the chase was halted, information about the license plate and vehicle type was relayed to the entire operational unit. The car was spotted later that day in the Split area by an off-duty police officer. Following her tip-off, the 26-year-old Dutchman was arrested, and the vehicle was temporarily seized.
The driver was immediately brought before the court in an expedited misdemeanor proceeding. The police proposed the maximum detention, a 20-day prison sentence, a fine, a six-month driving ban, and the permanent confiscation of the vehicle. They believed the Dutchman had shown exceptional persistence and had endangered himself and others by speeding through city streets.
After the proceedings, the court found him guilty of two traffic offenses: failing to stop when ordered by police and running seven red lights. He was given a total fine of €2,700 and a protective measure banning him from using his foreign driver's license in Croatia for six months. It was also decided that his vehicle would be returned, after which he was released.
This decision drew a sharp reaction from the Split police. As authorized prosecutors, they stated they would appeal the first-instance verdict.
"The imposed sentence is not commensurate with the offenses committed, the degree of responsibility, and especially not when considering the persistence and intent of the defendant to evade responsibility for such behavior in traffic, and that the sentence has not achieved either special or general prevention," the Split police said.
The car remains under police jurisdiction for now and will not be returned until the appeal process is resolved.
The police suspect that the driver fled because he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but this could not be proven. Since he was arrested only several hours after the incident, he was not given a breathalyzer or drug test. Even if substances had been found in his system, he could have argued that he consumed them after committing the offense.
The police also considered filing a criminal complaint for reckless driving, which carries a prison sentence of up to three years. However, such a complaint requires that the driver actually endangered someone, and fortunately, no one was harmed during his nighttime escapade.
The value of the car he was driving, a Mercedes C 63 S AMG, ranges from €45,000 to €95,000 for used models on the Croatian market, while a new one costs over €130,000.
