A lone cicada caused a single-car crash in Ohio on Monday evening, police said.
A Cincinnati man was driving with his windows down when the insect flew into his car and hit him in the face, causing him to crash into a pole, according to Cincinnati police.
“#nothinggoodhappenswithcicadas,” the Cincinnati Police Department wrote in a tweet, along with photos of the scene.
DON’T EAT CICADAS IF ALLERGIC TO SHELLFISH, FDA SAYS
#Crash single car into a pole at 2600 Riverside Drive. Caused by a cicada that flew in through an open window striking the driver in the face. #nothinggoodhappenswithcicadas #cicadas2021 pic.twitter.com/0WWUM8y5Ye
— Cincinnati Police Department (@CincyPD) June 7, 2021
The driver walked away from the crash with minor injuries thanks to his seat belt and air bags, but the cicada was found dead on the floor of the totaled Chevrolet.
Police did not give the driver a citation, the department said.
People were advised by the police to drive with their windows closed to avoid any cicada-related vehicular mishaps.
There was a sizeable swarm of cicadas in the Cincinnati area at the time of the crash, police said. In the Washington, D.C., area, the swarms have interfered with weather satellites.
The deceased cicada is one of the billions of Brood X bugs swarming the eastern United States, an event that only occurs once every 17 years.
The cicadas emerge from their underground hibernation to mate, dying shortly afterward. The bugs are “extremely sex-driven,” said Dr. Gene Kritsky, an entomologist at Cincinnati’s Mount St. Joseph’s University.
“Historically each time they emerge, there have been several car crashes attributed to their presence. This year is no different,” Cincinnati police said on Facebook.
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This occasion, however, is the first cicada-related traffic incident the area has seen since the emergence of the hoard, said Cincinnati Police Department social media director Sgt. Eric Franz.
