Two injured officers, a destroyed police car. And an unharmed thief, on the run. This is the result of the accident that occurred this morning before dawn in Cagliari, during a wrong-way chase on Viale Marconi.

It was just after 4:00. The police were on patrol in the San Benedetto area: a control action ordered by the Police Headquarters to monitor an area where numerous thefts have been recorded in recent times. They noticed a Fiat Panda, later found to have just been stolen, which performed a maneuver that attracted their attention. So the officers ordered a stop.

The man driving did not stop. On the contrary: he pressed his foot on the accelerator and took off towards Quartu. His mad dash, with the patrol car behind him, continued on the bus lane, in the wrong direction of travel.

A chase at breakneck speed, up to the bridge over the Terramaini canal. Here the Panda suddenly turned towards the embankment road, still going the wrong way. The officer driving instead lost control and the patrol car, after a contact with the Fiat, ended up against the guardrail.

The two policemen were injured. Rescued by 118, they were transferred to the hospital for checks: their conditions are not serious, they will get by with a week of treatment.

Their colleagues found the Panda abandoned a short distance from the accident site. And they started tracking down the thief.

Enrico Fresu

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