Spider causes car crash in California’s Death Valley

A tarantula has been blamed for causing a car crash in the California Death Valley National Park – but not the reason many might expect.

Two Swiss tourists travelling through a highway in the US reportedly hit the brakes in their campervan to avoid hitting the spider on the road – leading to a 24-year-old Canadian motorcyclist driving behind the couple to hit the back of the rented vehicle.

The motorcyclist was injured in the collision and was taken to Desert View Hospital in the nearby town of Pahrump – his condition is unknown.

In a media statement posted by the Death Valley National Park to their Facebook page, the accident occurred on 28 October 2023 along the CA-190 freeway east of Towne Pass, an isolated and desolate section of the Death Valley National Park, in California's Inyo County.

Superintendent Mike Reynolds, the first National Park Services (NPS) employee to arrive at the accident scene, warned motorists passing through the national park to proceed with caution.

"Please drive slowly, especially going down steep hills in the park," he said in a media statement.

"Our roads still have gravel patches due to flood damages, and wildlife of all sizes are out."