A police officer on a bicycle narrowly escaped a fleeing motorist in Tilburg on Friday evening. The driver initially stopped at the signal of the police, but then suddenly accelerated. The 36-year-old driver from Tilburg has been arrested. The police made the announcement on their website on Tuesday.
The incident happened around half past ten in the evening. Two police officers on their bicycles saw a car pass by loudly honking on Spoorlaan. They gave a stop sign to address the driver about his driving behaviour. The driver stopped and had to show his driver’s license. During the short conversation, the officers saw a bottle of laughing gas in the car. “Then it went fast,” said the police.
The driver accelerated and drove into the officer who was standing in front of the car with his bicycle. The policeman was able to jump away in time while the car went over the bicycle. The fleeing motorist took off at high speed but was arrested after a short chase by colleagues of the cycling officers. It concerned a 36-year-old man from Tilburg. He is charged with attempted murder or aggravated assault.
At the police station, it turned out that the suspect had consumed twice the amount of alcohol allowed. It was also the third time that the Tilburger was caught driving without a driver’s license. Because he had probably used nitrous oxide, his car was impounded.