After leaving the nightlife area, the driver refused the order to stop and drove toward the officer, prompting the police to launch a pursuit involving several motorcycle patrols.

After having flown at high speed for about five kilometres through the streets of the capital, the driver lost control of the car when attempting to avoid the authorities and crashed into two vehicles which were parked near the Combatants' Museum in Belém; the car then caught fire. Of the five people in it, two were able to get out on their own.

At the same time, the other three people, ranging in age from 25 to 31 and including one who was unconscious, were pulled alive out of the burning vehicle as a result of the immediate action taken by the officer who had been the aim of the attempted ramming.

The driver was arrested on charges of driving without a valid licence, disobedience, and dangerous driving, and the other passengers were also identified; however, there were no prior criminal convictions or confirmed links to the recent spate of robberies in the Greater Lisbon area.

The pursuit occurred at 7.25 am, when there was a high level of traffic and foot traffic in the Belém leisure areas.

The information is based on reports published by Correio da Manhã and The Resident.