Teen crashes into two Tilburg homes while fleeing police
A teenager who led police on a high-speed chase through Tilburg was in custody Friday morning after crashing a car into two homes on Kijkduinlaan. The accident happened at about 4:15 a.m., with the 18-year-old Tilburg man suspected of ignoring a stop signal from police and dangerous driving. Authorities were also investigating if the man was licensed to drive the vehicle.
There were no major injuries in the incident, but there was a significant amount of property damage. Four laughing gas canisters were found on the driver when he was caught, police said.
At a little after 4 a.m., a uniformed officer in an unmarked car reported seeing a gray Seat peel out then rapidly accelerate past the Reeshofweg. The officer activated his car’s flashing lights and siren, and used an LED matrix panel to issue a stop signal.
“He saw that the driver ignored the stop sign and increased his speed further to above 120 km / h,” police said. The officer lost the car near Kijkduinlaan after the two-kilometer chase.
“A few minutes later he heard from the dispatch room that residents on Kijkduinlaan were startled by an explosion. At the scene, it turned out that the getaway car had rammed the front of two houses. There was a great deal of damage,” police said.
One person took off on foot, witnesses said, while three young men stayed near the car. “One of them was on the ground, holding his leg and screaming in pain,” police stated.
Dozens of emergency service personnel were sent to the crash, including two ambulances. The three men were treated at the scene, and were not hospitalized. All three were from Tilburg. Two were 18 years old, and the other was 17.
A short distance later, the fourth person was picked up by police. When he was patted down, police found the four nitrous oxide cartridges.
“He had apparently taken his father’s car, a gray Seat,” police said. The father said his son had recently passed his driving test.
The case was still under investigation on Friday afternoon.
