A 42-year-old man who does not hold a driving licence led police on a dramatic chase covering more than 80 kilometres last weekend. The incident began in Murcia and ended on the outskirts of Alicante, resulting in injuries to two local Murcian police officers who had been pursuing him after he fled a routine checkpoint.
The pursuit came to an end near El Rebolledo, at kilometre 227 of the A-31 highway, when the fleeing driver rammed a police car and crashed. Even after the crash, he resisted arrest and made it difficult for the apprehending officers. The Alicante Traffic Division of the Guardia Civil has opened an investigation and charged the driver with reckless driving with blatant disregard for the lives of others, assaulting a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, disobeying a lawful order, and driving without a licence.
The chase started at around 8:00 a.m. last Saturday in the Murcian district of Aljucer. The Murcia Local Police began pursuing a Citroën C4 after the driver fled a routine checkpoint and headed towards Alicante along the A-7 motorway.
Shortly afterwards, alerts were raised with the Alicante Traffic Division of the Guardia Civil, the Crevillent Guardia Civil, the local police forces of Alicante, Elche, and Orihuela, as well as the National Police in Alicante. Patrols across these municipalities were put on alert to close off potential escape routes along the Alicante-Murcia highway.
The Guardia Civil Traffic Unit deployed patrols and joined the pursuit in the Elche area. Sources close to the case reported that the suspect was driving at high speed, making dangerous overtaking manoeuvres, and ramming police cars that attempted to stop him.
Upon reaching Alicante, the car exited the highway and drove onto the A-31 towards Madrid. However, near El Rebolledo, it turned around and crashed into a police car, causing the driver to lose control and run off the road. He continued to resist arrest at the scene, where officers from the Guardia Civil Traffic Unit and the local police forces of Alicante and Murcia were present.
Upon identification, officers discovered he did not have a driving licence. In addition to the driving and assault offences, he was issued a citation for a knife found hidden under his car seat.
Two local police officers from Murcia sustained injuries during the intervention, and at least one vehicle belonging to the Murcia Local Police suffered bodywork damage from being rammed. The driver was detained at the Guardia Civil station to complete the paperwork before appearing in court the following day, where he was released on bail.
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