The Viersen Police Department in Germany had seen nothing like it and can only chalk it up to divine intervention. A driver had been caught red-handed speeding in his Renault Twingo until a bird blocked his face from the camera, making the speed-trap ticket unenforceable. Going 34 mph in a 20 mph zone carries a hefty speeding fine of 105 euros. However, with the perfectly placed white bird obstructing the driver’s face, the fee could not be imposed.

The camera in its black and white luster gave the bird a dove-like quality, leading one officer to conjecture on the Viersen Facebook page that this, indeed, had been a gift from above: “The Holy Ghost may have thought something of it when he placed his symbol in an exposed spot.”

The officer added: “We have understood the sign and [we] leave the racer in peace this time.”

The police went on to joke about the camera shot saying they hoped the driver understands this grace-filled gift. “However, we hope that the protected racer understands this ‘hint from above’ and drives appropriately in the future."

After viewing another picture of the bird flying away from the vehicle, alas, it was a pigeon that came to the driver’s aid. Viersen officers joked in the Facebook post, “Actually, the pigeon would have earned a fine, because she was too fast.”

The officers also noted the timing of the incident with Pentecost this weekend, saying, “But since we do not know where she has to punctually be at Pentecost, we allow grace to prevail here too,” adding, “Neither the driver nor the pigeon are warned.”