Unlicensed 59-year-old allegedly steals car with child inside in Olt, hits bridge pillar

What police say happened

Police in Olt county say a 59-year-old man from the commune of Izvoarele took a car parked on Furculești street in the village of Alimănești on 10 October, while a minor was inside it. Slatina city traffic police were alerted to an accident in the locality at around 08:00 that morning, according to the Olt County Police Inspectorate (IPJ Olt). The man is suspected of taking the car for use and then driving it to the intersection with County Road 653 (Drumul Județean 653), where it collided with a bridge pillar. Libertatea reports that the crash happened within minutes of the car being taken. The child needed emergency medical care and was taken to the Slatina County Emergency Hospital (Spitalul Județean de Urgență Slatina).

Alcohol test and licence

Officers who reached the scene noticed the man smelled of alcohol and tested him with an ethylometer, which showed 1.17 mg/l of pure alcohol in his exhaled air. He was then taken to a medical unit so that blood samples could be taken to establish his exact blood alcohol level. Checks in the databases of the Romanian Police found no driving licence for any category of vehicle in his name. The inspectorate described the findings this way:

Because he was emitting alcoholic breath, the man was tested with an ethylometer, which indicated a value of 1.17 mg/l of pure alcohol in exhaled air. In addition, checks in the databases of the Romanian Police established that he does not hold a driving licence for any category of vehicle.

Charges and court order

Police opened a criminal case for theft for use, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without a licence and bodily harm through negligence. The man was held for 24 hours on the day of the crash, under the supervision of the case prosecutor attached to the Slatina Court. On 11 October he was presented to the Slatina Court (Judecătoria Slatina), which ordered preventive arrest for 30 days. Preventive arrest is a pre-trial measure, and none of the articles report a verdict. Police said investigations continue to establish all the circumstances in which the acts were committed. The key dates in the reports are shown below.

Differences between accounts

Most outlets describe the car as parked on a street in Alimănești, but one report says it was parked in front of a house with the keys in the ignition. Libertatea describes a frontal impact with a concrete structure, while the police-sourced accounts refer to a bridge pillar. Libertatea also reports that the man ignored or did not notice the child before taking the car, a detail the other reports do not carry. All reports agree on the date of the incident, 10 October, and on the 1.17 mg/l reading.