A1 in eastern Switzerland Driver smokes at the wheel - own goods set on fire

A delivery van driver smokes at the wheel - and sets fire to his own goods. This is what happened on Tuesday afternoon on the A1 in eastern Switzerland.

A 43-year-old man was driving his van on the A1 highway from St. Gallen towards Wil on Tuesday afternoon. He was transporting a sofa on the loading bridge of the van, according to the St. Gallen cantonal police.

During the journey, the car window was open and the 43-year-old was smoking cigarettes. The sofa caught fire, presumably due to falling cigarette butts or ash.

The 43-year-old man stopped his van on the hard shoulder and was able to push the burning sofa off the loading bridge onto the grass verge. The fire department that was called out extinguished the last pieces of the sofa, which were still burning slightly. There was no material damage to the van. There were traffic obstructions.