“Just a mistake”: in Tomsk, a drunk driver drove into a store, trying to hide from the traffic police

A resident of Tomsk drove a car into an auto parts store when he tried to get away from the traffic police crew, the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reports. The man was drunk. He told the traffic police that he had made a mistake.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on April 24 at about 00:40 on Lenin Avenue, near the intersection with Trudovaya Street, a traffic police crew noticed a Kia Sportage car, the driver of which passed the intersection at a red traffic light.

“The traffic inspectors demanded to stop through a loudspeaker device. However, the driver increased the speed, but lost control and drove into an auto parts store on Lenin Avenue, after which he was detained,” the report says.

The foreign car was driven by a 21-year-old Tomsk resident who showed signs of alcohol intoxication. The police found out that the car belonged to his relative.

The man told traffic police officers that he “got behind the wheel for the first time in his life.”

“I just thought I’d get to the store. A mistake, just a mistake,” said the Tomsk resident.

Administrative protocols were drawn up against the young man under Part 1 of Article 12.12 (driving through a prohibiting traffic light signal) and Part 1 of Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (driving a vehicle by a driver who is intoxicated).

The car is placed in a specialized parking lot.