Swarm of Wasps Attacks Driver for Disturbing Nest
First came the good luck.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the unidentified driver of a pickup truck turned a little too speedily onto the northbound Interstate 5 on-ramp at Crown Valley Parkway in Mission Viejo on Friday afternoon and spun out.
Only a few days before, the driver had been in a traffic collision and still had a painful and bandaged ankle to remind him of it. But this time the truck spun only about 10 feet off the ramp and came to rest against some shrubs. Neither the driver nor the truck was harmed, the CHP said.
Then came the bad luck.
Wasps that made their nest in the shrubs “were irritated by the intrusion” and attacked the driver, said CHP Officer Paul Caldwell. Officer Steve Bell and an unidentified tow truck driver spent half their time trying to hitch a line to the truck and half their time inside their vehicles to keep from being stung, Caldwell said.
The truck was pulled free, and both driver and wasps went on their way, Caldwell said. Neither driver nor wasps were cited.
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