“I’m driving and half asleep” Was a Driver’s Text Before Killing Biker
The driver took a selfie at the wheel and texted a friend, seconds before killing a 24-year-old motorcyclist.
A motorist has taken the life of a young motorcyclist in Sweden, crashing into him on the road shortly after sending a shocking text to her friend that read ‘I’m driving and half asleep’.
The news, reported on the FEMA website, explains that the rider of the bike was Tobias Durst, a 24-year-old who ‘loved riding motorcycles and travelling in Sweden’. It goes on to explain that last summer he left his native Germany and was hopeful of reaching the North Cape. The Northern Cape (also called Nordkapp) is the northern coast of the island of Magerøya in Northern Norway, and the most northerly point in Europe that is accessible by road.
What should have been the trip of a lifetime and no doubt a journey that would create many stories and memories turned into tragedy when Tobias was hit by a car travelling at ‘high speed’ at some roadworks, FEMA reports. It also writes that Tobias, along with the rest of the vehicles on the road that day, slowed down and stopped at the roadworks. Except for the car being driven by the unnamed driver, which ploughed into the row of traffic, reportedly hitting Tobias directly. A witness at the scene is said to have told police that the woman “could not have seen the line [stationary] of cars,” as she seemingly didn’t brake or slow the vehicle.
Some motorcyclists crossing a Fjord in Norway - not depicting the rider mentioned.
Adding to the tragedy of the crash is a timeline of events built up by the police in the seconds and minutes before the crash. Not only did the driver of the car take a selfie at the wheel and send that fateful text to her friend, but forensic investigations of her phone showed she had opened the Facebook app at 12:35:34 and closed it again at 12:36:44. The first emergency services call regarding the accident was made at 12:36:54, just seconds later.
During the trial, the driver of the car denied the offences, claiming the text to her friend referred to her being ‘bored’ and not tired, while her defence called for a suspended sentence and community service for the 30-year-old, as opposed to the prosecution’s call for a jail term. The driver of the vehicle was eventually convicted of causing death through negligence and negligence in traffic. She’s been fined 41,239 kronor (£3,017) and handed down a suspended sentence (probation for two years).
*The images in this article are stock images of Norway and do not depict the rider mentioned
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
