It was supposed to be a happy May outing with friends and ended for some with serious injuries in the hospital: 29 people were injured in an accident with a May car trailer in Kandern, southern Baden, on Labor Day, three of them seriously
Twenty of them were taken to hospitals, said operations manager Simon Redling to the dpa. The injured suffered traumatic brain injuries, concussions, broken bones or sprains.
The three seriously injured people were taken to surrounding hospitals by helicopter. Seven people were moderately injured. There were a total of 40 people on the team, said Redling. Around 90 fire and rescue services were on site.
That happened
According to initial investigations, a trailer being pulled by a tractor tipped over on its side on a downhill curve. The people fell out of the trailer, according to the police.
Photos show the red trailer lying on its side with two rows of benches attached to it. Several beer crates are stowed at the front. There is a beer bottle and several wooden slats in front of the overturned car – there is also a pair of shoes on the side of the road.
Police are investigating the driver
What exactly happened in the early afternoon in the community around 50 kilometers south of Freiburg is still under investigation. The driver is being investigated on suspicion of negligent bodily harm, said a police spokesman. For the investigation, the police also took overview photos of the accident site with a drone.
It is still unclear why exactly the May wagon, which was being pulled by a tractor, overturned. But the team wasn’t going too fast; it was almost stationary when the accident occurred, said the spokesman. It is more likely that the slope at the scene of the accident may have played a role. “The investigation will also focus on whether too many people were loaded onto the car.”
According to the police, the people on the car were a group of friends from the surrounding communities. The group members were all between 20 and 25 years old, said a police spokesman. There were no children on the car.
Numerous police and rescue services were on site to care for and transport the injured, including several rescue helicopters – some from nearby Switzerland.
