Man dies in Australia after 50-mph ride in shopping cart that crashed into an oncoming car

The crumpled shopping cart on the side of a road in Sydney, Australia, betrayed a gruesome story. With its metal cage bent and, in some parts, flattened, it resembled a skeleton with bones splayed in different directions.

Aside from being a transporter of groceries and small children, shopping carts have long provided entertainment as makeshift sleds. One or two young people sit inside the body of the cart, while another stands on the small ledge behind to push off. Going down steep hills, the ersatz vehicles can gain considerable momentum.

The activity enjoyed by countless youths proved fatal for a 28-year-old Swedish man early Tuesday morning, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. University of New South Wales student Robin Wahlgren and his close friend rode down Sydney’s steep Coogee Bay Road in a shopping cart that crashed into an oncoming car.

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Wahlgren catapulted into a nearby gutter and died from critical head injuries. His friend remains in serious but stable condition at Prince of Wales Hospital. Fairfax Media reports that he has a damaged knee.

Both men are Swedish nationals; the man in the hospital had just arrived in Australia a week ago to visit Wahlgren.

The pair’s apparent plan to “have a bit of fun together” turned deadly, Chief Inspector Chris Stiles said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Stiles estimated that the cart had reached speeds of up to 50 mph before it crashed, whereas the car was only travelling 37 mph.

The 45-year-old driver of the car was not injured and passed a breathalyzer test at the scene, according to Fairfax Media. Detective superintendent Gavin Dengate, a local area commander, said police officers are trying to retrace the men’s actions that night, including whether alcohol had been consumed.

He said they are still determining if the surviving man will face any charges: “We will certainly look at all that…Certainly it’s too early to speculate at this stage.”

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