Current:Home > ContactTrucker detained after huge potato spill snarls traffic on key Denmark bridge-VaTradeCoin
Trucker detained after huge potato spill snarls traffic on key Denmark bridge
lotradecoin volume View Date:2024-12-25 22:40:13
Copenhagen, Denmark — A 57-year-old truck driver was detained Thursday after loads of potatoes were found spilled on a key bridge linking two Danish islands, police have said. The driver was held on suspicion of causing reckless endangerment to life.
A first spill was reported on the westbound side of the Storebaelt bridge at 6.35 a.m. (0435 GMT), police spokesman Kenneth Taanquist said. The bridge connects the island where the capital, Copenhagen, is located to the rest of Denmark.
A similar incident happened on the eastbound side a short time later, Taanquist added.
"It looks weird," he said. "We are working on two hypotheses: it is either an accident or it is something that has been done deliberately."
Police said the roads had become slippery and urged drivers to drive slowly. According to the Danish Road Directorate, lines of vehicles were reported on either side of the roughly 11-mile bridge and tunnel link between the islands of Funen, where Odense — Denmark's third largest city — is located, and Zealand, where Copenhagen sits.
A third incident of potatoes on the road was reported near the town of Kolding on the Jutland peninsula. Kolding is near the Storebaelt bridge.
Danish public broadcaster DR noted that the potato spills occurred on the same day as the Danish parliament passed a law to tax diesel trucks transporting heavy loads.
The new measure has drawn protests from truck drivers. In recent weeks, they peacefully blocked highways and main roads throughout the country, claiming the tax will make their livelihoods unsustainable. A majority in the Danish parliament argue it is vital as the continued use of gas and diesel-fueled trucks is environmentally unsustainable.
As of 2025, the drivers of gas and diesel-fueled vehicles over 3.5 tons (7, 716 pounds) will be taxed 1.3 kroner ($0.19) per kilometer (roughly half a mile) driven.
Torben Dyhl Hjorth, a spokesman for the protesting truckers, said on Facebook that they "strongly distance themselves from today's 'stunts'." He added that they were planning a protest at a later stage which "can be felt but without risk to people's lives and well-being."
- In:
- Climate Change
- Agriculture
- Electric Vehicle
- Environment
- Denmark
- Pollution
- European Union
veryGood! (92)
Related
- SCDF aids police in gaining entry to cluttered Bedok flat, discovers 73
- Larsa Pippen, ex-wife of Scottie, and Marcus Jordan, son of Michael Jordan, split after 2 years
- Is there a winner of the $977M Mega Millions jackpot? Numbers have been drawn and it’s time to wait
- Annie Lennox again calls for cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war, calls Gaza crisis 'heartbreaking'
- Michael Bublé Details Heartwarming Moment With Taylor Swift’s Parents at Eras Tour
- Relatives of Tyre Nichols, George Floyd and Eric Garner say lack of police reform is frustrating
- Vote-counting machine foes hoped for a surge of success in New Hampshire. They got barely a ripple
- King Charles III praises Princess Kate after cancer diagnosis: 'So proud of Catherine'
- ParkMobile $32.8 million settlement: How to join class
- Texas school bus with more 40 students crashes, killing 2 people, authorities say
Ranking
- Oregon lawmakers to hold special session on emergency wildfire funding
- 3 teen boys charged after 21-year-old murdered, body dumped in remote Utah desert: Police
- Vote-counting machine foes hoped for a surge of success in New Hampshire. They got barely a ripple
- 5 bodies found piled in bulletproof SUV in Mexico, 7 others discovered near U.S. border
- ParkMobile $32.8 million settlement: How to join class
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Wish Health and Healing for Kate Middleton Following Cancer Diagnosis
- Metal detectorist looking for World War II relics instead finds medieval papal artifact
- Fill up your gas tank and prepare to wait. Some tips to prepare for April’s total solar eclipse
Recommendation
-
Dick Van Dyke credits neighbors with saving his life and home during Malibu fire
-
Hundreds of thousands of financial aid applications need to be fixed after latest calculation error
-
85 years after a racist mob drove Opal Lee’s family away, she’s getting a new home on the same spot
-
California governor, celebrities and activists launch campaign to protect law limiting oil wells
-
'The Voice' Season 26 finale: Coach Michael Bublé scores victory with Sofronio Vasquez
-
California work safety board approves indoor heat rules, but another state agency raises objections
-
King Charles III praises Princess Kate after cancer diagnosis: 'So proud of Catherine'
-
What is known about Kate’s cancer diagnosis