When we got that big solar eclipse last summer, I remember multiple experts warning us against driving with our eclipse glasses on. I thought, Duh. Those glasses are, after all, engineered to nearly blind us. They leave just enough visibility that we can see the outline of the sun and how it changes. But it looks like those were important warnings.

According to the Darwin Awards website, A partial eclipse passed over Germany back in August of 1999. Witnesses reported a car in Kaiserslautern weaving back and forth wildly. Then it accelerated suddenly and smashed into a concrete bridge pier, killing the driver.

The website adds that the driver was a 42-year-old man who was wearing his eclipse glasses and staring at the sky while driving. He was awarded the 1999 Darwin Award for removing himself from the gene pool in spectacular fashion.

It must have been a tough year to pick a winner. That driver was not the only casualty of the eclipse. In Berlin, a 24-year-old climbed a power pylon for a better view of the eclipse. While watching the show, he put his hand on a 20,000-volt electric cable and suffered severe burns.

This is just heresy, but one Darwin Award commenter wanted to correct the website’s account. Mike Butrovich says he lives in Kaiserslautern and claims the driver was not wearing his glasses. It was just an overcast day and he was probably struggling to see the sun.

Whatever the truth of the tale is, it’s an important lesson. If you are enjoying any astronomical event, it’s wise to pull over before gazing skyward.