Updated 21:41 | Published 21:35
When the getaway car tried to drive away from the police, it crashed into a taxi in Hornstull.
The driver and a passenger were seriously injured.
– It said bang out of nowhere. The force was enormous, it felt like we had a house over us, says the taxi driver.
A week has now passed since the accident in Hornstull in Stockholm. The taxi driver, a 55-year-old man who asked to remain anonymous, says he still has major problems with pain after the crash.
– I can’t work, I can barely get out of bed or lie down. I have to be careful in my movements, whatever I do, he says.
The chase started on Wednesday evening last week after a motorist refused to stop when the police tried to stop and check it in Stockholm.
The journey then ended in a violent crash where the fleeing driver drove into the side of a taxi in Hornstull.
– We were about to drive through the intersection on Långholmsgatan and just when we were at the last bit of the street there was a bang out of nowhere. The power was enormous, it felt like we had a house over us. I had time to think “did I drive into a house or what happened?”, says the driver.
Then he fell unconscious. When he woke up again, the street was full of police, paramedics and emergency services personnel.
– When I woke up and saw the chaos around me, I just felt, what the hell has happened. The car was full of people. My first thought was to turn off the meter so my customer wouldn’t have to pay for us standing still, but the people around me just told me to take it easy. That it was a serious accident that had occurred. It was only then that I understood what had happened, says the taxi driver.
The taxi driver and the passenger in the car were then taken to hospital.
The insane driver previously convicted
The person who drove the car, a 52-year-old man, was arrested on the spot on suspicion of gross negligence in traffic, grossly causing bodily harm and gross illegal driving as he did not have a driver’s license.
He has previously been convicted of a large number of insanity trips. In February, he was sentenced to six months in prison for, among other things, gross illegal driving, gross negligence in traffic and gross drunk driving.
While waiting for the prison sentence to be carried out, the man has committed more traffic offenses – the latest last week, which resulted in the serious collision in Hornstull.
– It is terrible that this man is allowed to be outside. He seems to have done this several times, but is released time and time again. But unfortunately there are many people who do this in traffic. I have been a taxi driver for many years and in recent years people have become much more aggressive in traffic, says the taxi driver.
“Almost afraid to drive again”
At the same time, the taxi driver says that he is happy that after all it ended “so well for him” – given the circumstances.
He also says he thinks a lot about the man who was riding in the taxi, who was taken to hospital with serious injuries after the crash.
– Now, given the circumstances, I feel quite okay, but this could have ended as badly as it wanted – as it did for my client, he says, and continues:
– Now I’m almost afraid to drive again. I will do it, I’ve had a driving license for over 40 years, but it’s scary that you have to be nervous to do what you love, says the taxi driver.
“Puts innocent people in danger”
Last week, police said they had ended the pursuit before the accident. Films that Aftonbladet has seen show, however, that the police cars were seven seconds behind when the crash happened.
– I don’t know how long the police chased him, or how much pressure they put on him, but I’ve always thought that they put innocent people in danger in situations like this. If someone drives at the speed he did, which must have been at least 100 km per hour, he must have had someone close behind him, says the taxi driver.