RTL spoke to one of the survivors of Saturday night’s fatal accident: the 18-year-old boy told the Híradó reporter that after his cousin flew out of the car, he ran to him, but was handcuffed by the police. According to the police, the measure was necessary for security reasons.
The accident on Saturday night took place on the exit section of the M3 motorway: the videos published since then show that the police are chasing a car driving erratically but quickly on Andrássy út after it did not stop for a license. The car did not stop at the signal of the police, the driver crashed his car into an electric pole at the intersection of the exit section and Szerencs Street. Police tried to revive the driver, but he died at the scene. The other four passengers were taken to the hospital by ambulance, where another 18-year-old died of his injuries.
The survivor spoken by RTL, the driver’s cousin, told the reporter that the member of the company who originally drove the car was very drunk, so his cousin decided to take over the driving, despite the fact that he too had been drinking and did not have a driver’s license. The boy does not remember the collision, as he woke up, jumped out of the car and saw his cousin. He says one of the officers pulled a gun on him, yelled at him to get down, and he did. They then handcuffed him and put him in one of the police cars, from where he says he watched as they tried to save his companions. He himself was not injured in the accident.
According to Soma Csécsi, the spokesperson of the Budapest Police Headquarters (BRFK), the boy had to be handcuffed for security reasons and “to prevent an escape”.
The head of the BRFK’s Traffic Police Department, police Lt. Col. Krisztián Léránt, held a press conference on Tuesday about what happened, and the police issued a statement, The police did not chase him to death! with address. Krisztián Léránt said that when the police tried to stop the driver, the driver of the car stepped on the gas despite the regular police signal. The car then sped off at an enormous speed, sometimes exceeding 130-150 km/h, while, according to Léránt, the driver repeatedly broke the traffic rules and created life-threatening situations. Krisztián Léránt denied that the young people were chased to their deaths by the police, he said that the tragedy occurred because of the driver’s irresponsible decisions.
The BRFK is investigating the circumstances of the accident within the framework of criminal proceedings, with the involvement of experts.
