Norrtälje district court considered that the 35-year-old man, who is afraid of grasshoppers and himself said that the insect may have caused a panic attack, should have removed it from the car.
The man came over into the wrong lane and collided head-on with another car. He does not remember the collision itself, but says that he discovered a large grasshopper in the cabin just before and that it cannot be ruled out that it gave him a panic attack that caused the collision. The man had stopped the car and searched for the grasshopper to take it out, without result, and finally gave up and continued driving.
The court of appeal assesses, like the district court, that it was reckless of the man to continue driving without ensuring that the grasshopper was not in the car. The court does not consider, however, that it is established that the fear of the grasshopper caused the collision and therefore acquits the man, writes Dagens Juridik.
