A man in Belgium is facing a six-year prison sentence for barging through a police roadblock.
The prosecutor’s office also demanded a further 30-month sentence for the passenger in his car.
The two men attempted to elude a police check in Quaregnon, Wallonia, on 12 December. In the ensuing 39-minute, 71-kilometre long pursuit, they tried to speed away from following police, and dangerously drove through a roadblock set up on the motorway.
They were finally arrested in Quiévrain, following a brief foray into France.
The driver, under the influence of cocaine and alcohol, had been a fugitive for two months. He had failed to return after a prison leave and had been living with the passenger in the car for a month. The two men had committed numerous thefts during this period.
An investigative judge initially charged them with attempted murder, due to the endangerment of two police officers who established the motorway roadblock and had to leap aside to avoid being struck by the fleeing vehicle.
However, the charges were later downgraded to dangerous traffic obstruction.
The verdict will be announced on 29 July.
