Ex-Madrid premier chased by police after illegally parking in Gran Vía

The president of the Madrid branch of the ruling Popular Party, Esperanza Aguirre, was involved in a traffic incident in Madrid on Thursday afternoon, according to sources from the city council and the police.

The former regional premier of Madrid had reportedly parked her white Toyota Versus in the bus lane on the central thoroughfare of Gran Vía, near Callao square. A traffic officer approached the vehicle and asked Aguirre for her driving license, with a view to fining her for illegally parking. But before the process could even begin, Aguirre became nervous and drove off, knocking over the officer’s motor scooter in the process.

The officer went after Aguirre on his vehicle, and was joined by a municipal police patrol car, the occupants of which had seen the incident. The officers tried in vain to get Aguirre to stop, but the politician made for her house in the nearby Malasaña neighborhood.

Once there, Aguirre drove her car directly into her garage and closed the door. Shortly afterward, two Civil Guard officers that are in charge of protecting her property came out of the house, offering to deal with the incident on her behalf. The traffic officer refused, however, and insisted that Aguirre came out to receive official notification of the fine, which is normally €200. When she did not appear, the officer went directly to police headquarters in order to report the incident.