BLUE ASH, Ohio — This was not the day of the locust. But a cicada startled an Ohio driver when it flew into the window of a vehicle, causing a rollover crash, authorities said.

According to a social media post by the Blue Ash Police Department, the driver attempted to remove the insect and lost control of his vehicle in the northern suburb of Cincinnati. The motorist, who was driving a silver Kia, veered off the right side of the road and rolled over.

“As you can see, a cicada attack can be dangerous,” the police department wrote. “Fortunately, no one was injured in the crash.

“The suspect fled the scene,” the department joked.

The cicada swarms, which occur once every 17 years, have already caused chaos in the Cincinnati area, according to WLWT. Residents have reported clusters of the insects in backyards, parks and amusement parks. Experts predict the cicadas will remain active for at least another week.

It’s not the first time an area driver has been forced off the road by a cicada. In 2021, Cincinnati police said a cicada caused a crash in the East End area of the city. A cicada flew through that driver’s open window, “striking the driver in the face,” before the driver crashed into a pole, Cincinnati police said.

Gene Kritsky, a professor in the biology department at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, said some areas saw cicadas pop up from the ground a little later than usual this year, WCPO reported.

“They’ve been emerging a little later than we expected in some places,” Kritsky, who has published five books and more than 100 papers on insect evolution, told the television station. “Batavia just had an emergence last week, whereas in Loveland, they started two weeks ago.”

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