Driver remains lying on the highway - and exchanges flowers for gasoline

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A5 motorway

Because his tank was empty, a 66-year-old in Hesse started a dangerous odyssey on the A5: He hitchhiked a bucket full of flowers to the next gas station a good 20 kilometers away, sold the plants to travelers there, and earned the proceeds a canister of gasoline and tried to return to his car as a hitchhiker - but got lost on the way back to the car.

The Thuringian had crossed the autobahn at least twice until a patrol stopped near the Gambacher Dreieck between the middle guardrails of the A45 and took him away, as the police in Giessen said. Several witnesses saw the man on his wrong track on Sunday morning and called the police. Exactly where the man comes from in Thuringia remained unclear.

"The 66-year-old is now awaiting a fine for parking on the autobahn. An empty vehicle is legally avoidable and therefore not considered a breakdown," the message said. "Furthermore, the man must expect that the costs of the police operation will be imposed on him."

lmd / dpa