Drunk driver in Žďár narrowly misses three people, hits bus

In the town of Žďár, a 72-year-old Kia driver with alcohol in his blood knocked down a lamppost, drove along a sidewalk and slammed into a bus standing at a stop. The car passed pedestrians about two meters away. Police reported the incident briefly on Tuesday, and now the municipal police have released video from a camera on a building overlooking the scene.

Police spokeswoman Dana Čírtková explained that the driver was traveling on road I/37 across Republic Square toward Horní Street. He was moving noticeably faster than the cars ahead of him a few seconds earlier, lost control and partly left the road. He then hit a lighting pole, crossed the sidewalk and struck the rear of the bus with the front of his car. The bus driver was standing at the stop at that moment.

Three unsuspecting pedestrians on the sidewalk had no time to react: the footage shows them instinctively ducking and speeding up only after the car hit the pole. The falling pole with its lamp and road signs, fortunately, did not hit them either.

Nearly two per mille and a refused test

Only the driver of the car was hurt; medics examined him and took him to hospital. A breath test showed 1.89 per mille of alcohol, and 1.97 on a second check. According to police, the driver refused a blood sample at the hospital without giving a reason. His driving license was confiscated on the spot and he was banned from driving further.

Police opened criminal proceedings on suspicion of the offense of “creating a danger under the influence of narcotic and other substances.” The damage exceeded 120,000 crowns. “Fortunately, nothing more serious happened,” the city guards wrote on Facebook.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz