23.10.07

Woman in wheelchair takes highway shortcut

An 81-year-old German woman driving to a cemetery in her electric wheelchair decided to take a shortcut and drove the wrong way down a highway. The wheelchair had been traveling at about four miles per hour. Vehicles on German motorways must clock at least 37 miles per hour, and there is no upper speed limit on some sections. Motorists spotted the woman and notified authorities, who escorted her to safety. "She told us she got lost and wanted to avoid taking a big detour," a police spokesman in the southern city of Nuremberg said.