Wrong-way driver causes accident on A5: two people die
Created: 03/07/2022Updated: 03/07/2022 12:32 p.m
The blue light on a police car is on.
© Patrick Pleul/dpa/symbol image
On a motorway near Baden-Baden, a car drives into oncoming traffic.
Two people die, the scene of the accident is like a rubble field.
And a number of questions are still open.
Ottersweier - The deadly collision of a wrong-way driver on Autobahn 5 on Monday night left behind a field of debris made up of scrap metal, bent tires and shattered glass.
According to the police, a wrong-way driver had rammed a minibus in the wrong lane.
The man died and took another man with him.
In addition, seven people were injured in the accident near Baden-Baden, most of them seriously, the police said on Monday.
more on the subject
Wrong-way driver accident on A5: Two dead and seven injured
Wrong-way driver accident on A5: BMW driver crashes head-on into minibus – two dead and many injured
Investigations after fatal S-Bahn accident
So far it is unclear why the man near Ottersweier (Rastatt district) was traveling in the wrong direction between the Bühl and Achern junctions and what happened before the collision.
The police, prosecutors and experts now want to find out.
As a result of the accident, an occupant of the minibus was reportedly injured so badly that he died at the scene of the accident.
The wrong-way driver died in hospital shortly after the accident, police said.
Of the seven other passengers in the minibus, five were seriously injured and two others were slightly injured.
The lane was closed for hours in the direction of Basel, but was released again.
There are always wrong-way drivers, as evidenced by the warning announcements on the radio.
There are about five reports on the radio in Germany every day, around 2000 every year.
According to the ADAC, in 2020 there were a total of 139 warnings about wrong-way drivers in Baden-Württemberg.
According to statistics, the greatest danger is in the evening and at night.
The risk of encountering a wrong-way driver is lowest between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.
According to the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), motorway junctions are particularly critical.
Again and again it happens that drivers lose their bearings there and choose the wrong route.
There are already warning signs in many places.
In addition, in some cars, drivers can be warned via displays if others are driving in the opposite direction of travel.
It was not until the end of September that three people died in an accident on Autobahn 8 near Pforzheim after a man had driven his car from a parking lot onto the Autobahn in the opposite direction of travel.
dpa