• austriantimes.at
• croatiantimes.com
• salzburgtimes.at
• viennatimes.at

© europics.at

15. 02. 13. - 13:00

• more Around the World news...
• RSS Feed Around the World

15. 02. 13. - 13:00

Rail Drunk

Kathryn Quinn

A drunk cabbie has told how he played a terrifying game of chicken with a train after getting stuck on railway tracks in Ostrowiec, Poland.

Tomasz Szczegola, 64, had been on an all night vodka binge when a regular customer called him at 6am asking for a cab.

"I should have turned her down but I needed the money so I thought I'd be clever and keep off the road.

"So instead I drove on the railway track. Big mistake," explained Tom.

But after only a few hundred yards, the horrified cabbie saw a train heading straight towards him.

"I tried to steer but I was stuck on the rail," he said.

"I couldn't run because it was my wife's car and I was even more afraid of her than I was of the train.

"So instead I sat tight, flashed my headlights and prayed for the best," he added.

Police say Szczegola was only saved when the quick thinking train driver in the Warsaw-Przemysl train saw his lights and made an emergency stop.

"It was a very stupid thing to do. He not only put his own life at risk but everyone on the train too," said police, who have charged him with drink driving and interfering with a railway line.

Tragic Ski Girl Dies
A 10-year-old British schoolgirl has died after skiing into a tree at high speed during a family holiday tragedy in the Austrian Alps.

Peak Performance
Police chiefs in Hamburg, Germany, are celebrating after new crime figures showed there wasn't a single bank robbery in the city last year.

Chinese Fakeaway
Chinese property developers who've been thwarted in a bid to buy up an entire Austrian village have settled on the next best thing - an entire life-sized replica.

Austrian children help Romanian kids
A charity project run by the middle school in Hippach has been recognised with an award for its social work by officials in Tyrol.

Mother kills disabled daughter because she couldnt take care of her any longer
A Romanian woman killed her 8 year-old disabled daughter on Wednesday (yesterday)because she couldn't pay for her care, Libertatea newspaper reports.

Policeman accused of sex with the son of his girlfriend
A Policeman from Vulcan, Western Romania is currently being investigated for having sex with a minor, the son of his girlfriend, Cancan newspaper informs today (Thurs).

Serial killer survivor walks away alive after fall
An 85 year-old woman who survived the most cruel and notorious serial killer in Romania some 40 years ago, recently fell from the first floor of her apartment building and she walked away safe and sound, Cancan newspaper reports today (Thurs).

The son of Qatar Airlines BA beaten up in Romania
The son of the Board of Administration of Qatar Airlines Akbar Al Baker, was beaten up over the weekend at the launching party of a posh club in Mamaia, at the Romanian Black Sea shore, Cancan newspaper reports.

Majority starts president’s suspension procedures
A day after the Social Liberal Union (USL) legislators dismissed with a large majority of votes the two Speakers of the Parliament, the Union started today the procedures for the suspension and possible impeachment of President Traian Basescu. This is the second time when the Parliament asks for Basescu’s suspension.

Some 177 Roma repatriated by French authorities to Romania
Some 177 Romanian citizens of Roma origin were repatriated on Tuesday night from Lille, France, Romania TV news channel informs today (Weds).