BARCELONA, April 9 — A Swiss motorist was arrested yesterday in northeastern Spain with a dead body in the passenger seat after driving on the wrong side of a highway, police said.

The 66-year-old man had initially been driving towards France but on seeing a police check at a border crossing turned around and began to drive the wrong way down a highway, ignoring signals that he should stop, a Catalonia regional police spokesperson told AFP.

After more than 30 kilometres, the driver turned off the highway and shortly afterwards was involved in a crash around 20 kilometres from Girona, according to a statement.

When police proceeded to inspect the car, they found the body of an elderly man in the passenger seat in front.

An investigation has been launched. — AFP