14-year-old drives parents' car nearly 700 km to Kołobrzeg, caught after a chase
A 14-year-old took his parents' Renault Kadjar overnight in the Małopolska town of Wadowice and was found on foot in Kołobrzeg after a police chase and a search involving more than 100 people.
From Wadowice to the Baltic coast
The journey started in Wadowice in Małopolska, where police announced on 7 October that they were looking for a 14-year-old who may have been driving a Renault Kadjar. TVN24 reports that a photo and description of the boy were released with the appeal. Accounts differ on the distance: TVN24 says the boy travelled more than 700 km, FAKT24 says almost 700 km, and RMF24 puts the trip at close to 750 km from Andrychów. According to FAKT24, the parents reported him missing once they noticed the car was gone and their son was not at home.
The Wadowice police described their first findings in a statement:
As preliminary findings showed, during the night he took the keys to the family Renault Kadjar and then drove off in an unknown direction.
Tracking the car across Poland
Police tracked the boy's phone and a card payment at a petrol station in Ruda Śląska, and the car was later spotted on the route near Opole, according to TVN24. RMF24 reports that the phone placed him in the Zachodniopomorskie voivodeship, after which the local police commander raised an alarm for the officers under his command. Numerous patrols were sent out across the district. The search in Kołobrzeg drew more than 100 officers and volunteers, including firefighters, volunteers from OSP Robuń, the Paramedic rescue group, a police dog handler and drone operators with thermal imaging cameras.
The chase and the arrest
Traffic police spotted a vehicle matching the description after 20:00 on Wednesday near Stary Borek. The driver ignored stop signals and kept heading toward Kołobrzeg, then abandoned the Renault near Europejska street and fled on foot through grassland toward Obozowa. The Paramedic group found him after 21:00, with 24kurier placing the find near Radzików while FAKT24 says he was walking calmly along ul. Warszawska in a nearby housing estate. One rescuer asked whether he was drunk, and the boy replied that he does not drive drunk. An ambulance crew examined him and decided there was no need for hospitalisation.
- Wadowice police announce the search for a 14-year-old who took the family Renault Kadjar
- Traffic police spot the car near Stary Borek, and the driver ignores stop signals heading toward Kołobrzeg
- Paramedic rescue group finds the boy on foot after he abandons the car near Europejska street
Police in Kołobrzeg described the aftermath in a statement:
He was taken to a police unit. An ambulance crew was called to the scene. After an examination, the rescue workers decided there was no need for hospitalisation. The boy was collected by his family.
Night at the station and what comes next
FAKT24 reports that the boy spent the night at the police station and that his father collected him around 10 the next morning, although the father did not want to discuss the incident. Police told FAKT24 that the boy had argued with his parents the day before and decided to travel to Kołobrzeg, where the family had been on holiday together. The police statement lists charges for driving without a licence, failing to stop for a traffic check and other traffic offences. 24kurier cites the police statement on failing to obey an order to stop and continuing to drive despite light and sound signals. The family court will decide what happens to the boy, and FAKT24 reports that no serious accident was caused during the trip.
