The German police have established a commission of inquiry into a series of accidents caused by a 30-year-old truck driver from Poland. It happened on Saturday in North Rhine-Westphalia. A total of 19 people were injured, including eight seriously. As explained, the idea is to “collect all witness statements and information about individual accidents” and “recreate the entire journey.”
The Düsseldorf police announced the establishment of an investigative committee in a statement on their website on Monday. “In the coming days, the investigative commission will collect all witness statements and information about individual accidents in order to reconstruct the man's entire journey, if possible,” it was explained.
The 30-year-old was brought before a judge at the district court in Hagen (North Rhine-Westphalia) on Sunday. The judge ordered the man to be placed in a psychiatric clinic, Düsseldorf police reported. Information was also provided about the stable health condition of one person who had previously been in a critical condition as a result of an accident. Her life is no longer in danger. A total of 19 people were injured, including eight seriously.
The truck rammed vehicles on highways
On Saturday, a 30-year-old driver from Poland caused a series of accidents involving a total of 50 vehicles on the A1 and A46 motorways in North Rhine-Westphalia. Approximately At 4:30 p.m., the police received the first report about the dangerous driving behavior of a truck on a section of the highway near Neuss. It was also noticed that diesel fuel was leaking from the vehicle. Before the truck reached the Wuppertal-Nord motorway junction, it hit several vehicles, German police said. Instead of stopping, the driver exited onto the A1 motorway towards Bremen.
According to witnesses, the truck was slaloming at excessive speed. The driver ignored all police orders to stop. Car drivers were asked to leave the A1 motorway. The truck stopped only after driving almost 60 km, when it hit a traffic jam on the road. The police told the German broadcaster WDR that the vehicle could not be stopped earlier due to its size – the truck was traveling with a semi-trailer.
Authorities are waiting for test results
On Sunday, the police reported that at the scene of the incident there were preliminary indications that the perpetrator had consumed alcohol or taken drugs. Appropriate tests were therefore carried out. The results of the blood tests are expected in the next few days. The German press agency dpa, citing sources in security circles in North Rhine-Westphalia, reported that there is no indication that the series of accidents caused by the 30-year-old driver was an act of terror or a planned attack.
PAP, Tagesschau, Deutsche Welle, tvn24.pl
Main photo source: Alex Talash/dpa/PAP