Caroline Grønbekk told NRK Troms og Finnmark she was driving through the tunnel when another car struck the side of her vehicle and fled. She believes the collision was intentional and noted the car had no license plate. Police operations leader Karl Erik Thomassen confirmed the report but said officers could not locate the car at the scene due to the missing plate.
Police are investigating a car theft from the same night connected to the incident, and a person was arrested for driving without a license under the influence of drugs in a stolen car. The arrested person is charged with drugged driving and other offenses. Witness Marie, driving behind Grønbekk, told NRK Troms og Finnmark she saw the car driving erratically and was concerned the driver might be intoxicated.
It seemed like it was done on purpose.
Grønbekk and Marie met outside the tunnel and called police. The tunnel had manual convoy traffic control that night, but cameras did not capture the incident because high speed does not trigger recording, according to traffic operator Morten Fjellheim. Grønbekk's car sustained superficial damage, but she reported waking up with a headache and feeling shaken.
We were several cars driving together at 60 km/h. Suddenly the car came up beside me, in the left lane.
It scraped along the side. The mirror was smashed, then it drove quickly on. I saw no brake lights. The car showed no sign of trying to stop.
Still, I immediately thought I had to check the license plate. But then I remember I didn't see any plate. It must have been driving without one.
The car drove into the tunnel behind me, and I saw the driver driving a bit wobbly and strangely. Then they signaled and drove past.
It was frightening to see. I also feel sorry for Caroline, because this happened early in the tunnel, and we had to drive in a queue through the rest of it.
I woke up with a headache today. This has probably scared me.