A truck drove into a group of people on the footpath in downtown Passau. A 37-year-old woman was killed, a spokeswoman for the Lower Bavaria Police Headquarters told stern on Friday afternoon. Four pedestrians were seriously injured, including the deceased woman’s eleven-year-old daughter. The 63-year-old driver of the truck was also taken to the hospital. The spokeswoman was initially unable to provide any information about the identities of the other injured people. A large number of police and rescue workers were deployed. Several rescue helicopters could be seen in photos from the scene.
According to the police, the exact background to the incident on Passauer Bahnhofstrasse, a shopping street in the center of the city of 50,000 inhabitants, has not yet been clarified. “We are definitely assuming a traffic accident,” said a police spokesman in the early afternoon. The investigation was ongoing and the public prosecutor’s office and an accident expert were also called in.
“According to current knowledge, a truck continued its journey after a delivery and then drove past a parked vehicle,” explained the police spokeswoman in a press statement about the accident. “He hit the pedestrians who were walking on the sidewalk.” The truck then came to a stop against a wall. The truck is apparently a 7.5-ton truck. According to police, the incident occurred around 9:50 a.m.
A witness told the “Passauer Neue Presse” that the truck driver may have noticed a bus too late and hit the group of pedestrians while trying to avoid it.
After the incident, the city administration announced that Bahnhofstrasse had been closed. “All road users are asked to avoid the area as much as possible,” it said. The Schanzl Bridge over the Danube was also temporarily closed so that the helicopters could land, but was accessible again from midday.
The mayor of Passau, Jürgen Dupper, reacted to the accident and its consequences with deep concern: “In events like this, our full sympathy goes out to the people affected and their relatives,” wrote the SPD politician. “This accident means the worst possible end to 2023.”
The “Bild” newspaper and Bayerischer Rundfunk first reported on the event.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated several times.
Sources: Lower Bavaria Police Headquarters, “Bild” newspaper, Bayerischer Rundfunk, “Passauer Neue Presse”, City of Passau, DPA news agency
