In August, two manhole covers had been thrown from a bridge onto the A7 near Hildesheim, and a third manhole left behind was discovered on the bridge. One of the two covers smashed through the windshield of a car, seriously injuring the two occupants of the vehicle.
In an immediately initiated search, a 50-year-old living nearby was identified and arrested as a suspect. Among other things, he was observed by a witness with his bicycle, and a surveillance camera also recorded him in the immediate vicinity of the crime. He was temporarily held in custody, but was later released.
According to information from Wednesday, the investigators discontinued the investigation against the man due to a lack of sufficient suspicion. As a result, he was “not considered as a perpetrator,” it said. Among other things, he did not cover the distance to the bridge in the time available and could not transport the three manhole covers with a total weight of around 75 kilograms by bicycle. Even DNA traces on a lid did not come from him.
According to the authorities, the suspicion of the young men from the Hildesheim district that have now been arrested is based, among other things, on the fact that a car they were using was seen at the scene at the time of the crime and the previous theft of the manhole cover. The suspicions had increased in the course of the investigation, so that an arrest warrant had been requested, it said.
