The tourist was spotted by witnesses near the Alcampo shopping center, driving in the wrong direction south towards Las Palmas, seriously endangering road safety.
The quick intervention of the officers managed to stop the vehicle safely near Las Terrazas, thus preventing a tragedy.
The driver, a disoriented man in his seventies, accidentally entered the branch line going the wrong way, and drove almost 4 kilometers until he was intercepted.
National Police officers, assigned to the Local Citizen Security Brigade of Telde, intercepted a "kamikaze" vehicle during the early morning of January 4th that was driving in the wrong direction on the GC-1 highway, near the municipality of Telde, seriously endangering traffic and the lives of road users.
The events occurred around 23:50 hours, when the CIMACC 091 operations room received several calls alerting them to a white car traveling in the wrong direction on the GC-1, in the South-Las Palmas direction, near the Alcampo shopping center.
Given the urgency of the situation, a police patrol immediately went to the location, using acoustic and light devices.
The driver, a man in his seventies, drove about 4 kilometers in the wrong direction before the officers located him near the Las Terrazas shopping center and safely intercepted him, positioning themselves in front of him and forcing him to stop on the shoulder of the highway, ensuring the safety of road traffic at all times.
Once the car was stopped, the police secured the area and ordered the driver to turn off the engine, removing the ignition key. They found that the driver appeared disoriented and gave incoherent explanations.
Given this situation, the Traffic Division of the Civil Guard was notified, who took charge of the corresponding procedures, as well as the health services, who, after an initial assessment, proceeded to transfer the driver to the Insular Hospital for a more thorough medical evaluation.
The vehicle was removed from the road and taken to the municipal impound lot, and traffic was subsequently restored to normal without any personal or material damage.
The National Police remind drivers of the importance of exercising extreme caution while driving and warn of the serious danger of driving in the wrong direction, one of the most dangerous behaviors on high-capacity roads.
