Sint-Niklaas (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): A man who took a car for a test drive and didn’t return it was eventually caught after hitting officers with his motorcycle. He faces attempted manslaughter charges but wasn’t arrested.
The man who went to test drive a car at Premium Car Company in Pelt last week said he’d bring the car back the next day instead of the same day as usual. The man said he’d pay for the kilometers he drove during the test drive but didn’t return the car as promised. The dealership had trouble contacting him for next steps.
Why didn’t the prosecutor’s Office arrest the man who assaulted police during a car theft?
After the man didn’t return the test-driven car the Premium Car Company managers asked for help on social media to find him. They wanted the public’s assistance to locate the man and the car. The police found the man with help from social media tips but he got away when they tried to catch him. Even though the dealership and the police worked together they couldn’t catch him yet and the search for the man and the car is still ongoing. The police caught the man last Friday with the help of two officers on bicycles. When they tried to arrest him he used his motorcycle to hit the officers while trying to escape. The officers got minor injuries from the collision. The officers managed to catch the man even though they got hurt. They arrested him ending the search and solving the issue with the missing car and the man trying to escape multiple times.
After catching the 28-year-old man the two officers who got hurt were taken to Vita Hospital for treatment. At the hospital they were told they couldn’t work for a while because of their injuries from the incident. The car the man took was found and it was all good, no damage. They solved everything found the car and finished the case.
The man is being charged with attempted manslaughter for hitting the officers with his motorcycle during the escape.It has been said that it’s a serious charge because of the harm he caused. However the prosecutor’s office in East Flanders chose not to arrest him. They made this decision based on the evidence and situation but the exact reasons haven’t been fully explained by the police.
