A woman in the Ural Mountains village of Beryozovo called police at 3 a.m. Friday saying a tank had been driven into her yard.
When police arrived, they determined that the “tank,” which had bulldozed a fence and garage before stopping in front of a house, was in fact a 14-ton all-terrain vehicle.
But the vehicle resembled a tank so much that one 80-year-old resident wondered whether war had broken out, a statement on the regional police department’s website says.
Because of the driver’s intoxicated condition, police couldn’t question him until the following morning. He expressed confusion over how he’d wound up in Beryozovo.
The man works as a mechanic in the area. Because of the incident, he faces misdemeanor charges, the loss of his driver’s license and possibly the loss of his job.
Police are checking to determine whether the driver stole the vehicle, in which case he will be charged with unlawful acquisition of a vehicle, which carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison.
He will also have to pay the homeowner for damages to the property.
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