Germany Truck chaos: Trail of devastation on NRW highways
Around 50 vehicles and 26 injured: a truck driver has left a trail of devastation on busy highways in North Rhine-Westphalia. The conspicuous truck drove in serpentine lines on the A46 and A1, causing numerous accidents late on Saturday afternoon. The truck only came to a standstill on the A1 after colliding with oncoming traffic. The police expect some of the closures and clean-up work to last until Sunday afternoon.
01.12.2024, 10:27
SDA
Drivers were warned over the traffic radio during the chaos and asked to leave the freeways as quickly as possible - but in many cases were unable to get out of the way in time. According to the investigators' findings so far, a total of 50 vehicles were involved in the series of accidents. Early on Sunday morning, police put the number of seriously injured at eight, including one person with life-threatening injuries. A further 18 people suffered minor injuries in the series of accidents.
This is how the chaos unfolded
The truck was reported to the police at around 4.25 p.m. when it was driving in a conspicuously unsafe manner on the A46 near Neuss. Officers were soon able to locate the vehicle. However, according to the police, the driver disregarded their signals to stop and continued driving at a significantly increased speed and in serpentine lines in the direction of Wuppertal and then onto the A1. There, between Volmarstein and Hagen-West, the truck crossed into oncoming traffic, collided with vehicles and came to a halt across the carriageway.
Police officers arrested the 30-year-old at the scene of the accident. Initial indications of possible alcohol or drug consumption emerged at the scene, the police said, without giving further details. The driver of the truck with Polish license plates was taken to hospital. According to the police, he will be questioned as soon as this is possible after the medical examinations have been completed. The police initially had no new information on the arrested driver on Sunday morning.
Closure of several important sections of highway
The police have activated a tip-off portal on the LKA NRW website. Witnesses can upload photos and videos or leave other information there. The distance from Neuss to the scene of the accident, where the truck finally came to a halt after its chaotic journey along the A46 and the A1, corresponds to a distance of around 60 kilometers. The police do not rule out the possibility that the number of casualties from the series of accidents will rise even further, as the drivers involved may have driven themselves to hospital.
As a result of the series of accidents, there were closures of several important sections of the highway, which were gradually lifted. According to the police, early on Sunday morning, the A1 section in the direction of Cologne from Hagen-West and in the direction of Bremen from Gevelsberg to the accident site were still closed. These closures are expected to continue until midday.
