16-year-old flees with car during nighttime test drive in Vienna-Floridsdorf

Course of the offense at night

Once the 31-year-old had gotten out, the 16-year-old took advantage of the situation and pressed the gas pedal. According to police, he "suddenly drove away at excessive speed." The owner immediately contacted the police emergency number and reported the theft of his vehicle, a Mercedes E-Class.

As police determined, the youth "holds no valid driver's license." The suspect is, according to investigators, a 16-year-old Romanian national. Since a 16-year-old naturally cannot yet obtain a driver's license, he was from the outset not authorized to operate the vehicle in public road traffic.

Arrest and investigations

The search for the stolen car apparently proceeded quickly: the 16-year-old was provisionally arrested on the spot. The Floridsdorf City Police Command took over the further investigations. No further details were initially released regarding the whereabouts of the vehicle or the precise circumstances of the arrest.

The incident raises questions about the practice of private sales platforms and test drives. In the current case, the buyer had presented himself as of legal age and thereby gained the 31-year-old owner's trust through deception. Only after the offense did it emerge that the supposed 19-year-old is in fact a minor.

Legal classification

The online platform willhaben, through which the contact was made, is generally confronted in such cases with the problem that identities in private listings can be verified only to a limited extent. The specific case has not been publicly commented on by the platform so far.

In legal terms, the youth is likely to face proceedings for theft and driving without a driver's license. Since he was 16 years old at the time of the offense, the application of juvenile criminal law must in principle be examined under Austrian criminal law. No information on possible further investigation results was initially released.