The background to an accident on the A44, in which a driver fell on a demolished bridge, is still unclear. That’s what the police announced this morning.
The 59-year-old driver drove his car on a closed section of the Autobahn near Würselen near Aachen yesterday and crashed. The car flew a good 25 meters, overturned in the air and landed a good five meters lower on the roof. The man was only slightly injured.
“It could have ended very differently”
Investigators currently suspect that someone has removed barriers and detour signs in the direction of the replacement bridge, over which traffic is actually being directed during construction. The 59-year-old driver was only slightly injured despite the spectacular accident, the police said.
“He was really lucky. It could have ended very differently,” said a police spokesman. The man was traveling fast when he drove over the edge. The car flew a good 25 meters, overturned in the air and landed on the roof a good five meters lower. After the accident, the man was able to get out himself.
The bridge at the Broichweiden junction was demolished in July 2022 as part of the six-lane expansion of the A44 in the area. She towered over a country road. During the construction work, traffic will be routed over two temporary bridges to the left and right of the dismantled bridge. The traffic routing had been like this for a long time at the time of the accident, according to a spokesman for the Rhineland branch of Autobahn GmbH, it was last changed at the beginning of February.
Police looking for witnesses
It is suspected that someone willfully removed the barriers, said the police spokesman. The background is still unclear, it is determined in all directions. There is no evidence of a suspect yet.
The police are looking for witnesses who saw something suspicious between Sunday afternoon – according to the police, someone from the construction site was still there at the time – and the accident just before 6 a.m. yesterday morning. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be on site,” said the police spokesman. “Anyone who has seen someone who was out with blocking material or dropped material on the side of the road, please get in touch.”
