Many of us enjoy immersive video game experiences, but sometimes they go a bit too far, like when a stolen fire truck goes on a crash rampage. A real-life police chase crashed into the bedroom of a woman who was, herself, evading virtual police in a game of Grand Theft Auto at the time, reports the Yorkshire Evening Post.
There’s nothing wrong with blowing off some steam by doing crimes in a video game. Emma Graves was doing exactly that at around 11:00 p.m. on July 2, according to the Messenger and Inquirer. Suddenly, Graves heard what she described as “engines revving, screeching brakes, then multiple impacts.”
“I literally couldn’t make this up. It was not funny at the time but it was afterwards.”
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“The car hit three others, tore through mine and my neighbour’s fencing and crashed into my bedroom wall, just feet from where I was sitting”, she said. “The flats physically shook. It was absolutely terrifying. If it had been even slightly worse, I wouldn’t be here to tell you this. Police were shouting at someone to put their hands up and put the weapon down.
Add one more reason to the ever-growing list of why police chases need to stop.
An unsafe road
Graves is no hardcore criminal from Los Santos, but a full-time caregiver to her mother, who was not home at the time of the crash. She had just moved into the Leeds flat last year, and was already concerned about dangerous traffic on Thornhill Road, even before her experience with GTA coming to life. She’s using her experience and newfound notoriety to bring attention to the problem.
“Thornhill Road has been dangerous for a long time. It’s constantly used as a rat run – by commuters, school traffic, delivery vans and joyriders, despite being a residential area with children, elderly and disabled residents.There are no traffic calming measures in place apart from two 20mph signs and a set of bollards further down Thornhill Road. The bollards don’t prevent these roads being misused.
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“The main worry is that something is going to happen and it’s going to take something deadly serious for them to do something.” She added: “I’ve still got some anxiety every time I hear a car screeching.”
I’d be anxious, too, if I’d been through what she has. As if a police chase crashing through her bedroom wall isn’t already deadly serious. Graves has started a petition to the Leeds City Council to do something about it. A council spokesperson told the Yorkshire Evening Post:
“While incidents of this nature are thankfully rare, we recognise the importance of thoroughly understanding all aspects before reaching any conclusions and making recommendations. To that end, a site meeting has been arranged with the resident to hear her concerns in person. We have also requested information from West Yorkshire Police to better understand the background to this incident. Together with our partners, Leeds City Council is committed to Vision Zero 2040 with the ambition being to have no one killed or seriously injured on our roads by 2040.”
Let’s hope something gets done sooner than 2040 so that no one has to go through this again. Real life and video games should remain separate.
