Spectacular crash after pursuit near the French border: Car thieves narrowly escape from burning wreck (Menen)
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A wild police pursuit ended on Sunday morning in a spectacular crash on the boundary round of the N58 in Rekkem. Two French car thieves, who had stolen a Peugeot 3008 shortly before, barely escaped death when their vehicle caught fire after a heavy collision.
The chase, involving both the Mouscron and Grensleie police zone, extended over both Belgian and French territory. The incident came to a dramatic end when the driver lost control of the stolen hybrid vehicle at the tuber roundabout.
The Peugeot 3008 shot off the road, raged through the greenery and missed a hair after a bridge pillar. The vehicle finally came to a halt after a frontal collision with a large traffic sign, after which the car immediately caught fire. The two young passengers were able to free themselves miraculously enough without serious injuries from the burning wreck, but were immediately caught in the buoys by the police present.
The fire brigade quickly had the situation under control, but had to be extra careful because of the hybrid nature of the vehicle. The incident caused hours of traffic disruption, where drivers were diverted towards Mouscron via the French border. (TBD)
