A woman from Leeds had a ‘terrifying’ shock when a car crashed into her wall while she was evading police in GTA 5.
Advancements in technology have made some modern games almost frighteningly realistic, with titles like Death Stranding 2: On The Beach and Hellblade 2 at the cutting edge when it comes to visual fidelity.
While we’re not quite at the point where it’s difficult to separate virtual reality from actual reality, both worlds collided for one gamer in Leeds while she was playing GTA 5.
Emma Graves, 44, was evading police in Rockstar’s open world classic when a car being chased by police crashed into the wall of her flat on Thornhill Road, Armley, just inches from where she was playing her PlayStation.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Graves described the coincidence as ‘just so ironic’, adding: ‘I literally couldn’t make this up. It was not funny at the time but it was afterwards.’
Graves was playing GTA 5 in her bedroom on the ground floor when the crash happened at 10.40pm on July 2, when she heard ‘engines revving, screeching brakes, then multiple impacts’ outside her home.
‘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,’ Graves said. ‘The flats physically shook. It was absolutely terrifying.
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‘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.’
West Yorkshire Police have made eight arrests following the collision, in relation to a wider firearms investigation, but no one has been charged yet.
The incident has led Graves to set up a petition calling for Leeds City Council to install improved traffic calming measures on Thornhill Road, which has racked up 124 signatures. Representatives from the council are set to visit Graves next week.
GTA 5 is the biggest-selling traditional video game ever, with over 215 million copies sold. That’s behind only Minecraft, which has racked up over 300 million sales.
Rockstar is set to finally deliver a sequel next year with GTA 6, which is due to launch on May 26.
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