Potatoes are seen scattered across the carriageway on the western part of the Great Belt Bridge, Denmark, Thursday, June 1, 2023. A 57-year-old truck driver was Thursday detained after loads of potatoes have found on the key bridge linking two Danish islands, police said, adding the man was suspected of recklessly causes imminent danger to others. A first spill was reported in the westward direction on the Storebaelt bridge, police spokesman Kenneth Taanquist said, adding a similar incident happened shortly after in the opposite direction. 

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A 57-year-old truck driver was detained Thursday, June 1, 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, 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, Tanquist 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 11.2 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 will be taxed 19 cents per half 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 plan protest at a later stage which “can be felt but without risk to people’s lives and well-being.”

Beloved New York swan babies rescued after mother was eaten by family, police say

MANLIUS, New York — The village of Manlius in upstate New York is mourning the loss of Faye, a swan who was stolen from the town’s pond over the weekend along with her four cygnets. The cygnets, or baby swans, were recovered, but officials say the mama swan was eaten.

“The mother swan was consumed,” Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall said Wednesday, May 31. “Sad to say, but that’s what they did.”

Three teenagers were arrested May 30 on charges including grand larceny and criminal mischief in connection with the swan-napping, Manlius police Sgt. Ken Hatter said.

Mute swans like Faye and her mate, Manny, are not native to North America. They were introduced as an ornamental species and are loved for their beauty but are considered invasive by wildlife officials.

Hunting swans is legal in a few U.S. states but not in New York.

Southeast of Syracuse, the village of Manlius has a swan insignia on its website, as well as on merchandise like hats and T-shirts.

“The swans have been a part of this village for well over 100 years,” Whorrall said. “We’re known for our swans.”

For over a decade, Faye and Manny swanned about in the village pond, and each spring hatched and raised cygnets. In 2010, they were donated by biologist and self-described “swan guru” Michael Bean.

Police said Faye and this year’s cygnets went missing on May 27, but that officials weren’t notified until May 29.

After notice went out of the missing Manlius birds, a concerned citizen spotted two of the baby swans in a store in nearby Salina and called authorities, Hatter said.

One of the suspects who worked at the store confessed to taking part in the crime, along with the two other teenagers, police said. The remaining two swans were found at the first suspect’s Syracuse home, they said.

The young swans will be cared for and returned to the pond in a few weeks when they are old enough to survive on their own, Hatter said, but Faye won’t return to the pond. She was given to a relative to cook.

“They brought it back to an aunt’s house and the aunt prepared it,” he said.

Two of the suspects, aged 16 and 17, were released to their parents because they are juveniles, police said. The third, who is 18, is awaiting arraignment. Information on their attorneys wasn’t available.