The teenager stole a car, crashed it into five other vehicles and injured three peope – as he attempted to visit Count Dracula in Transylvania’s Hoia-Baciu forest
A teenage boy who flew to Romania and stole a car so that he could find his “great-great-grandfather Count Dracula” and be “turned into a vampire” was chased by cops and detained.
The 19-year-old, from Switzerland, set off to Fagaras, Transylvania, last week in a bid to reach the Hoia-Baciu forest – where he was planning to meet Count Dracula on Halloween, local media reports.
But once he arrived in Fagaras – around 170 miles from the forest – the teen ran out of money, so broke into a car and used it to travel towards his destination on the morning of October 20.
Police managed to track him down after the owner of the vehicle reported it as stolen. During a dramatic chase, the teen sped up, crashed into five other cars and injured three people.
He told officers: “’I wanted to go to the Hoia-Baciu forest, in search of my great-great-grandfather, Count Dracula, Vlad Tepes. I hope he can turn me into a vampire. All my life I’ve dreamed of this and now I’m here.”
A witness told local media that the teenager, who was dressed in a black fedora and long black coat, ran through traffic at high speeds. The driver said: “He hit my right door and threw me into the curb. My legs were shaking a bit, [but] I didn’t suffer anything.”
A police spokeswoman said the man sped off during the chase, causing him to hit one car on a roundabout and another four during a collision near a petrol station. The three injured drivers – two women and a man – were taken to hospital for treatment.
The 19-year-old eventually fled the vehicle on foot, before being quickly detained by police. He was initially found to have been on drugs and allegedly admitted to investigators that he was under the influence. The police spokeswoman added that the Swiss man was tested at hospital to find out if there is any psychoactive substance in his blood. According to local media, the teen also did not have a driver’s license.
He will remain in police custody for 24 hours while an investigation for theft and several traffic offences are ongoing.
