Passau - Driver released after fatal truck accident, nine-year-old out of danger
There was a serious truck accident in Passau in Lower Bavaria on Friday morning in which a 37-year-old mother and her 11-year-old child were killed. According to the German Press Agency, the nine-year-old son is still in hospital for treatment - as is a woman aged 70. The child was very seriously injured, but is now out of danger, according to a police spokeswoman. A 45-year-old woman who was also injured in the accident had already been released on Friday.
The driver of the car involved in the accident has since been released. The 63-year-old is being investigated for involuntary manslaughter, a police spokeswoman said on Saturday. However, there was no indication of an intentional offense and no grounds for detention. He was therefore released from police custody after being questioned on Saturday.
Truck drives into crowd of people - police assume an accident
The lorry driver had probably wanted to avoid a bus in Passau city centre - and drove into a crowd of people on the sidewalk. Five people were injured, two of whom died. The 37-year-old woman died at the scene of the accident, her daughter succumbed to her injuries in hospital. The 70-year-old woman, who is also in hospital for treatment, was seriously injured. A 45-year-old woman was slightly injured and has since been discharged from hospital.
The 63-year-old truck driver is no longer in police custody. According to the police headquarters of Lower Bavaria, the witness statements and the evaluation of videos have confirmed the previous findings regarding the accident. At this stage, neither a technical defect nor driver error can be ruled out. The police continued to question witnesses on Saturday and are also appealing for further witnesses. At the time of the accident, a city bus was stopped at the red light in Bahnhofstraße. Passers-by and passengers on the bus who witnessed the incident should come forward.
There was no evidence of alcohol or drugs in the truck driver. However, the police spokeswoman said that not all the results had been evaluated yet. The police investigation with the Passau public prosecutor's office was continuing. The pending results of the accident analysis report and the evaluation of the evidence are decisive for a final statement. The expert completed his investigations at the scene on Friday.
At around 9.50 a.m. on Friday morning, the man had left the carriageway of Bahnhofstrasse in Passau city center in his truck and hit a group of people on the footpath before coming to a halt against a wall. "We firmly believe it was a traffic accident," said a police spokesperson immediately after the incident - countering speculation on social media about an alleged terrorist attack.
Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann also confirmed this: "So far, there are no indications of an attack or a politically motivated background." The CSU politician expressed his condolences to the relatives.
Dismayed reactions after truck accident in Passau
The scene of the accident was cordoned off over a wide area on Friday morning, with numerous police officers, firefighters, crisis intervention teams and members of the emergency services on site. Several rescue helicopters landed at the Schanzlbrücke, a multi-lane bridge in Passau, to fly the injured to hospitals. A police helicopter was used to take a general view of the accident. The accident happened at around 9.50 a.m., and around four and a half hours later, at around 2.20 p.m., the police lifted the traffic closures again.
Passau's Lord Mayor Jürgen Dupper (SPD) was "deeply affected and shocked". "In events like this, all our sympathy goes out to the people affected and their families," wrote the SPD politician. "This accident marks the worst possible end to the year 2023."
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Source: www.stern.de
