The police literally had to fly a plane to even be able to follow a red Mercedes C63 AMG that just wouldn't stop.
Swedish police had to resort to unconventional methods when a Mercedes C63 AMG fled from police on the E4 near Jönköping at a speed of 280 km/h. In fact, law enforcement had to fly after the car.
A helicopter was deployed to follow the fleeing car after a patrol car on the ground lost contact.
The incident took place at the end of March 2024, shortly before the Elmia car show. The driver of the Mercedes had ignored police instructions to stop and instead accelerated.
The high speed and reckless driving, where the car overtook on both the left and right sides, made it impossible for the police on the ground to follow.
– A patrol took up the pursuit at 6:45 p.m., but lost contact with the car, which is said to have overtaken other vehicles on both the left and right sides.
– When there was a helicopter in Jönköping, it was ordered to follow the car to get visual contact. The helicopter went down and up again. But that didn't make the driver stop, Lars-Göran Nilseryd, the police officer on duty, told Jönköpingposten in connection with the hunt for the Mercedes.
With the help of the helicopter, the police were able to follow the Mercedes, which continued its escape at the same high speed. Running away from the police may seem like an easy solution in the movies. But in reality, it is difficult to escape when you are being followed from the air.
The chase ended in the town of Skillingaryd in Småland, where the police had laid out a roadblock. And on flat tires, there's not much even a 6.2-liter V8 engine can do.
The car was occupied by four men in their 20s. The driver was charged on the spot with gross negligence in traffic, driving under the influence of drugs and for ignoring police instructions. He was later fined for speeding. He also had to surrender his driving licence.
The three passengers were not suspected of having committed any crime. Conversely, it is not clear from the story whether their criminal records are clean.
It is certainly not the first time that a driver has attempted to flee from law enforcement. Shortly after Christmas in 2023, a man, then just 19 years old, attempted to flee from the police in Denmark's most popular car. The chase ended with a smashed car. Read more about it here .
