Boy Throws Snowball And Causes 16,000 GBP Of Damage

Story By: Koen Berghuis, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

A snowball thrown at a dustcart by an 11-year-old boy has caused a crash which caused over 16,000 GBP of damage.

The startling incident happened on the provincial road between the towns of Unterageri and Oberageri in the Swiss Canton of Zug.

Picture Credit: CEN

An 11-year-old boy, who was not named due to privacy reasons, was ecstatic about the fresh snowfall in the area and was playing alongside the road in the snow.

He decided to throw some snowballs and allegedly threw one right at a dustcart driving by on the road.

The 46-year-old driver reportedly did not realise he was hit by a snowball and thought he had just driven over something and slammed on the brakes, performing an emergency stop.

A female driver aged 51 driving just behind the dustcart did not notice the driver in front’s emergency stop in time and her car crashed right into the rear of the rubbish-collecting mechanism of the dustcart.

The crash caused substantial damage to the woman’s vehicle, which can be seen in the photo, although fortunately nobody was injured.

According to local media the total amount of damages is estimated at around 20,000 CHF (16,059 GBP).

The accident even pushed the Zug Cantonal Police to issue a public statement to youngsters in the Canton.

A police spokesman said: “Throwing snowballs at moving vehicles is not a prank, but also has legal consequences.

“Attempting to throw objects such as snowballs at moving cars is punishable as a dangerous interference with road traffic and thus considered a criminal offence.

“In the event of an accident, the costs of civil claims, which might fall on the parents, should not be underestimated.”

It is unclear if a criminal complaint has been filed against the boy.