Lars Vilks had been living under police protection since 2007 due to death threats over his depiction of Prophet Muhammad.
Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, known for his derogatory depiction of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, died in a car accident Sunday, according to local media.
Two police officers who had been assigned to protect him were also killed in the accident, the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter reported.
The car he was traveling in had left Stockholm and was headed south, swerved into the truck lane and collided with a truck and both vehicles burst into flames.
The police have said that so far it is unknown why the car headed into the wrong lane as the investigations are underway.
Vilks had been living under police protection since the controversial 2007 sketch due to death threats.
Vilks was in headlines around the world after his drawings caused huge outrage in 2007, which led the former Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to meet the ambassadors of various Muslim states to mitigate the situation.
