‘Fast and Intoxicated’: Varna Police in 100-km Pursuit of a Drink-Driver

A midnight police chase in the region of the coastal city of Varna is close to earning a place in the record books after officers pursued a drunk driver for 100 kilometres.

The incident unfolded late last night, November 17, when police in Dalgopol received a report that a young man had got behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. Driving a powerful car, he headed towards Provadia, where officers were already waiting to stop him — but he refused to pull over.

What followed was a 100-kilometre pursuit involving police units from Dalgopol, Provadia, Novi Pazar, Shumen and Devnya. All teams were coordinated by the operations centre in Varna.

According to police, due to the high speed and the risk to the driver’s life, officers did not deploy spike strips or other forced-stop devices.

The chase finally came to an end near the village of Yagnilovo, where the driver crashed his vehicle and came to a halt.

Officers tested the 33-year-old driver and found he had a blood-alcohol level of 2.29‰. His passenger was also intoxicated.

The driver, a resident of a Shumen-region village has accumulated a total of 21 penalty notices for breaches of the Road Traffic Act.

At a police briefing, officers explained:

“The signal came in around midnight. The driver had been refuelling at a petrol station and was visibly intoxicated, so a patrol was dispatched to detain him. The vehicle was intercepted and ordered to stop, but he accelerated and ignored instructions. Officers followed him and repeatedly signalled him to pull over. He continued driving through numerous villages towards Shumen. Additional units joined the pursuit, with four patrol cars involved. He kept increasing his speed.”

Shortly before the village of Yagnevo, he self-crashed.

The driver sustained no serious injuries, though the vehicle suffered material damage.

Police said the man had no prior criminal record until now. He was travelling at speeds of around 200 km/h. His breath test confirmed 2.29‰ alcohol. He has been detained, a pre-trial investigation has been launched, and he has been issued five citations. His vehicle has been confiscated.