A British tourist who drove his car into the entrance of a hotel in the Polish mountain resort of Karpacz has been fined and banned from driving after a dramatic police chase.

The incident occurred shortly after dawn when a vehicle suddenly smashed through the glass entrance doors of a hotel in the popular Lower Silesian town. After crashing into the building’s lobby and causing significant damage, the driver reversed out and fled the scene. Police later estimated the damage to the property at around 50,000 złoty (approximately £10,000).

Local officers quickly began searching the area and soon spotted the suspected car parked nearby. When the driver noticed the approaching patrol car, he abruptly accelerated and collided with a marked police vehicle before attempting to escape. The pursuit lasted only a short distance roughly 1.5 kilometres before police managed to stop the vehicle and detain the driver.

The suspect was identified as a 36-year-old British citizen. According to police, he appeared highly agitated at the time of his arrest. A preliminary drug test indicated that he may have been driving under the influence of narcotics, and officers also discovered psychoactive substances inside the car.

Prosecutors charged the man with several offences, including failing to comply with a police order to stop, damaging property, possessing psychoactive substances and driving while under their influence. The case was handled under Poland’s accelerated judicial procedure.

The court ordered the man to pay a fine of 11,000 złoty to a public victims’ assistance fund, imposed a four-year driving ban in Poland, and required him to cover the cost of repairing the hotel entrance.

Police have used the case to warn motorists about the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs, emphasising that such behaviour poses a serious threat to public safety.

Photo: Dolnośląska Policja

Tomasz Modrzejewski