A 21-year-old man crashed a Mercedes-Benz through the wall of a house in Andwil, Switzerland, early Saturday morning, police confirmed.
The pursuit ended when the vehicle left the road, struck a curb, became airborne, and smashed into the residence.
Miraculously, no one was killed.
“I was sleeping when everything came towards us,” Flo S. told Blick. Sabrina A. described the chaotic aftermath: “He got out of the car on his own. I’m glad about that, because if he had died in the car, I don’t think I would be okay.”
Photos from the scene, released by the Kantonspolizei St. Gallen, show the Mercedes protruding directly into the home’s kitchen area, bricks and debris scattered around the vehicle. A neighbor, Roger Gmünder, 58, offered a stark comparison: “If someone had tried to perform such a stunt on purpose, they wouldn’t have managed it. Not even Evel Knievel could have pulled that off.”
The driver’s mother, Monika M., 50, spoke to Blick from a neighboring municipality where her son was recovering. “He’s a lovely boy who wouldn’t want to hurt anyone,” she said. She clarified that the heavily damaged car was not her son’s, but hers, and was “not a high-performance vehicle.”
Remo M. was hospitalized with injuries, including a broken vertebra and a broken arm. His mother confirmed he is remorseful. “He wants to apologize to those affected,” she said, adding that the family is giving him time to rest.
The incident began just minutes before the crash. Police say Remo M. entered the “Schäfli-Kreisel” roundabout in Gossau SG on the wrong side. An officer attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the driver accelerated away.
According to a police media statement, the pursuit reached “massively excessive speeds” as the Mercedes sped toward Andwil. The chase ended abruptly when the car hit a curb, causing it to swerve, go over the street onto an elevation, and become airborne. The absence of skid marks in the grass supports the theory that the vehicle left the ground.
For the residents of the small, 2,000-person community, the event has been remarkable. Sabrina A. told Blick her thoughts are consumed by the crash. “It will take a long time for us to process this,” she said.
Monika M. expressed confusion over how the situation escalated so dramatically. “I don’t know how it could have gotten so out of hand,” she admitted. “He probably reacted stupidly when the police wanted to stop him.”
