Truck driver carrying 12 containers of corrosive waste rams police cars and flees into forest, later arrested
A 24-year-old truck driver rammed two law-enforcement vehicles, broke through a police roadblock, and fled on foot into a forest near Aleksandrów Kujawski on 16 July after refusing a customs inspection, only to be arrested the following day in Wielkopolska province.
The inspection that triggered the chase
On Thursday 16 July, officers from the Kujawsko-Pomorski Customs and Tax Office in Toruń stopped a MAN truck on the S10 expressway near Czerniewice for a routine check. The driver was asked to move the vehicle to a safe location so further procedures could be carried out. Instead, he accelerated sharply and began fleeing south along the A1 motorway toward Łódź.
KAS officers gave chase immediately. Near the Ciechocinek junction they managed to overtake the truck, activated lights and sirens, and displayed an order to pull into a parking area. The driver ignored every instruction.
Kierowca został poproszony o przestawienie pojazdu w bezpieczne miejsce. Zamiast wykonać polecenie, gwałtownie ruszył i zaczął uciekać autostradą A1 w kierunku Łodzi.
Ramming and the police blockade
During the chase the driver struck the SCS patrol car twice, first hitting its rear and then ramming its side with considerable force in an attempt to force it off the motorway. Police units were called in to assist and set up a roadblock, but the truck driver broke straight through it and continued towards Aleksandrów Kujawski.
Once inside the town he ignored an officer standing at another blockade and collided with a police car. The pursuit finally ended on a forest track near a military training ground, where the driver lost control, hit a tree, and abandoned the vehicle. He escaped on foot into the surrounding woodland.
Na terenie miasta, kierowca nie zwracając uwagi na policjanta, stojącego na blokadzie, doprowadził do zderzenia z radiowozem.
What officers found inside the truck
Officers from the Kujawsko-Pomorski Customs and Tax Office secured the vehicle. On the trailer they discovered 12 mauzer-type containers filled with a liquid that a chemical-response unit from the State Fire Service in Toruń later identified as caustic alkaline substances (hydroxides), probably hazardous industrial waste.
A search of the cab turned up identity documents issued in several different names, a driving licence, and a large amount of cash. Investigators also established that the driver had been operating the vehicle without his driver card inserted in the tachograph.
- KAS officers stop the MAN truck on the S10 near Czerniewice; driver is asked to move to a safe spot.
- Driver strikes the SCS patrol car twice (rear and side) trying to force it off the A1 motorway.
- Truck breaks through a police roadblock and continues into Aleksandrów Kujawski, colliding with another police car.
- Driver loses control on a forest track, hits a tree, abandons the vehicle and escapes on foot.
- KWP in Bydgoszcz announces arrest of the 24-year-old driver in Wielkopolska province.
Arrest in Wielkopolska
The man remained at large overnight. Late on Friday afternoon, 17 July, police officers from the Kujawsko-Pomorskie force tracked down and arrested the 24-year-old driver in Wielkopolska province. The arrest was confirmed at 21:38 by the KWP in Bydgoszcz.
Procedural actions are being conducted under the supervision of the prosecutor's office in Aleksandrów Kujawski. The exact composition of the liquid and the origin of the multiple identity documents remain under investigation.
