Chicken bone throw led to 'bizarre' car pile-up

A district judge says the case of a man who threw a chicken bone across a road and caused a four-car pile-up is the most bizarre he has ever known. An unmarked police car made an emergency stop when Andre Varciana threw the bone at friends in Swansea. District judge Vivian Manning-Davies was told four cars were badly damaged when they also had to brake.

Varciana, 22, who admitted throwing the bone, was conditionally discharged and ordered to pay £85 court costs. Anwyn Evans, prosecuting, said that on the afternoon of Saturday, 25 June Varciana and four friends bought a bag of cooked chicken pieces in Fforestfach. As they walked towards Carmarthen Road, Varciana was on a pavement and his friends were on the central reservation of the dual carriageway.



He threw a bone in their direction, but as he did so a police officer in an unmarked Ford Focus car used by CID was approaching. Ms Evans said the officer made an emergency stop, the cars behind braked, and four were badly damaged in a rear shunt - although the police car was unscathed. A number of people suffered minor injuries.

In mitigation, Ian Hopkins told the court that Varciana had no intention of causing the crash. Mr Manning-Davies said: "It is the most bizarre case I think I have ever come across or heard about. To say it is unusual is an understatement. Initially I thought I was going to impose a very hefty fine... but I don't think that's at all appropriate."