Drug-fuelled hallucinations lead man to smash Zlín car dealership and try to steal a multi-million-crown car

In the Czech city of Zlín, a young man under the influence of drugs smashed the display window of a car dealership on T. Bati Street and attempted to steal a vehicle worth over two million crowns. The incident ended with the man being hospitalised with massive blood loss, a police spokeswoman reported.

According to police, it all started with a call to the 158 emergency line — witnesses reported a strange man wandering among the parked cars outside the dealership. It later emerged that the young man was under the influence of drugs and suffering from hallucinations, believing he was being chased and that someone wanted to harm him.

Trying to escape his imagined pursuers, the man decided to steal a car — and not just any car, but one of the most expensive models in the showroom. Using rocks and his bare hands, he smashed through the glass display window and, already bleeding heavily, climbed inside the vehicle. There, disappointment awaited him: the car had an automatic transmission he had no idea how to operate, and besides, he had no keys.

Officers saved the man's life

By that point, a first-response patrol from Zlín was already on its way to the scene. The arriving officers found a scene of chaos — shattered glass, pools of blood, and a bloodied man sitting inside the car. Realising every minute counted, the officers immediately grabbed a first-aid kit and rushed to help him.

The man had serious injuries to his arm and leg, with massive blood loss. Fortunately, he remained conscious, which allowed the officers to keep talking to him. They first managed to stop the bleeding from his arm, but the wound on his leg took longer to find — it was located right near the groin and was bleeding heavily.

Using a tourniquet, the officers managed to stop that bleeding too, all the while talking to the man to keep him conscious. “In all likelihood, they saved his life,” the police spokeswoman said. By the time paramedics arrived, the man had already been stabilised and was handed over to medical staff.

Investigators now suspect the man of damaging property. The smashed display window and the blood-soaked car interior caused damage estimated at no less than one hundred thousand crowns. According to police, he now faces up to one year in prison.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz