Pokemon Go player lures nothing but police after crashing car into school
A driver made an unplanned PokéStop on Thursday night when he crashed his car into a school in Berwick, Victoria.
Police said in a statement that the 19-year-old man was trying to capture a creature from the Pokémon Go application.
Distracted by the game, he "lost control" on Ridgemont Drive just before 7pm on Thursday night.
It is understood the man was negotiating a roundabout at Flowerfield Close when he ran off the road through a fence and into a portable school building.
Police said no one was injured in the incident.
"Any PokéBalls, eggs or potions the driver may have had remaining only attracted police leaving the wild Pokémon for another day," Victoria Police spokeswoman Julie-Anne Newman said.
"The 19-year-old did not 'level up' or collect any stardust from the crash."
The driver tested negative in a preliminary breath test.
The man allegedly told witnesses he was on the phone to his girlfriend at the time of the crash.
But local parents were less than impressed.
"It's certainly fortunate that there was no students or staff in this part of the school at that time," one parent said.
"It's going to get to the point where someone gets seriously hurt or killed," another said.
The crash comes just days after VicRoads introduced almost 40 flashing road signs warning drivers "Don't drive and Pokemon".
Police warned the public that catching a Pikachu while driving could result in a $466 fine and four demerit points.
Those hunting for the digital creatures on foot are also warned to be aware of vehicles and other pedestrians, during the search.
Earlier this week, swarms of Pokemon Go players stopped traffic in a suburban Sydney street of Rhodes.
Posted to Facebook on Sunday night, footage showed gamers running in front of cars to cross the street.
In July, residents of Rhodes launched a water balloon attack at people playing the game while they were traipsing through the streets in search of creatures.
The residents had allegedly grown tired of the gamers congregating outside their apartment buildings late into the night.
The game has been downloaded more than 50 million times from the Google Play store and is top of the Australian charts for free iOS apps.
Japanese video game company Nintendo started the mythical creature franchise 20 years ago.
The franchise was brought back to life when the application launched in early July this year.
The app uses satellite locations, graphics and camera capabilities to overlay animated creatures on real-world settings.
Players are then challenged to capture and train the creatures for battles.
The game has sparked increasing concerns for safety worldwide, with various reports of players straying into restricted areas, being injured or becoming crime victims.
News break – July 29
