Hong Kong Police Chase Turns Chaotic in Mong Kok as Mercedes Crashes Into Cars and Officer
HONG KONG — A routine traffic stop in Hong Kong's busy Mong Kok district turned into a dramatic police pursuit on Monday after a driver allegedly refused to stop, rammed several vehicles and struck a police officer before abandoning the car and escaping on foot.
The incident unfolded at around 4pm on Sept. 7 along Nathan Road, where officers reportedly spotted a black Mercedes allegedly making an illegal passenger drop-off.
When police signalled the driver to pull over, the motorist instead drove away, setting off a chase through the densely populated Kowloon district.
Driver allegedly rammed vehicles while fleeing
According to reports, the Mercedes struck another vehicle waiting at a junction as the driver attempted to evade the police.
Footage circulating online appeared to show officers surrounding the vehicle and attempting to force it to stop. Some officers were seen using batons against the car's front passenger-side window and windscreen.
The driver nevertheless continued moving, and a male police officer was struck during the escape.
At least four vehicles were reportedly damaged in the incident.
The dramatic scenes prompted comparisons online to a sequence from the video game Grand Theft Auto, although the real-life incident left people injured and triggered a criminal investigation.
Mercedes found abandoned kilometres away
The pursuit eventually came to an end not because police caught the driver, but because the Mercedes was abandoned.
Police later found the vehicle roughly 4km away, on Yan Yung Street in Hung Hom, near a student dormitory belonging to Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
The driver was no longer inside and had apparently fled on foot.
Officers subsequently searched the vehicle as part of their investigation.
Suspected regulated drugs found inside car
Police said they discovered regulated drugs in the abandoned Mercedes under Hong Kong's Pharmacy and Poisons Regulations.
The discovery added another dimension to the case, although authorities have not publicly established that the driver was responsible for possessing or trafficking the substances.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the suspect had not been located at the time of the latest report.
Two people injured
The violent chase also resulted in injuries.
The police officer struck by the Mercedes was taken to hospital for medical treatment.
A woman travelling in another vehicle that was hit during the incident was also injured and taken to a separate hospital.
There were no reports in the latest coverage of fatalities.
Police launch search for fleeing driver
Hong Kong police have launched an operation to identify and locate the driver.
The case has been classified as involving reckless driving and possession of regulated drugs, according to the report.
Investigators are expected to examine the abandoned vehicle, surveillance footage and other evidence gathered along the route of the chase as they work to establish exactly what happened and identify the person who was behind the wheel.
A worrying pattern of vehicle pursuits
The incident comes after other dramatic vehicle pursuits in Hong Kong this year, including a July case in which a fleeing vehicle crashed into a café in Mong Kok after allegedly attempting to evade police. Two suspects were arrested in that incident, and police reported finding suspected narcotics in the vehicle.
While the circumstances of the two cases are different, repeated high-risk pursuits have renewed attention on the dangers posed when motorists attempt to escape police in densely populated urban areas.
Mong Kok is among Hong Kong's busiest commercial districts, with heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic, making high-speed or aggressive driving particularly dangerous.
Search continues
For now, the focus remains on finding the Mercedes driver and determining what led to the confrontation in the first place.
What began as an attempt to stop an alleged traffic violation quickly escalated into a chain of crashes, an injured officer, a fleeing suspect and a vehicle containing suspected regulated drugs.
The driver may have escaped the scene, but police are now piecing together the trail left behind by a chase that turned one of Hong Kong's busiest streets into a chaotic crime scene.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D