There was an unusual road rage incident in Japan with one fatality. Tokyo police arrested taxi driver Atsushi Ozawa, 50, on 5 December after a witness reported him speeding off from a traffic light when it turned green.

Police charged Ozawa with violating wildlife protection laws for deliberately driving into a flock of pigeons that were on the road, killing one.

The police had a veterinarian perform a post-mortem on the hapless pigeon and determined its cause of death was traumatic shock, local media reported.

Ozawa admitted his fault with an incriminating statement.

"Roads belong to humans, so the pigeons should have dodged out of the way," Ozawa was quoted by local media as telling investigators, Agence France-Presse reported.

Police called his behavior "highly malicious" for a professional driver, before deciding to go ahead with the arrest, broadcaster Fuji TV said.

In the United States, meanwhile, a California court sentenced Clarissa Hernandez, 27, of Texas, to three years of probation on 20 December for admitting to driving under the influence and resisting arrest in August.

Hernandez plowed into an electronic signboard in Palm Springs, according to police. Officers manning a checkpoint a few steps away from the crash spot rushed over to the mangled Land Rover as Hernandez staggered free.

"Her eyes were bloodshot, red and watery, and her speech was slurred. She swayed forward and back continuously," a Palm Springs Police Department officer identified as J. Valdiva wrote in a report, according to AFP.

"She was angry, argumentative and hostile," the officer wrote, adding that when questioned Hernandez said she had polished off some tequila just 10 minutes before the crash.

Ironically, the e-signboard she rammed was flashing a warning that a police checkpoint was ahead to inspect cars for drunken drivers.

With AFP