Two people and a dog were burned alive in a serious rear-end collision on Autobahn 5 near Heidelberg. A pickup truck driver hit the car at the end of a traffic jam on Thursday morning. Both vehicles ignited, a police spokeswoman said. The person who caused the accident was able to save himself. However, the occupants of the other car were trapped in the car along with their dog.

First responders tried to free the victims from the car. However, they couldn’t help because of the blazing flames. The first responders also tried to put out the flames with fire extinguishers, but were unsuccessful. “The inmates were burned alive and fully conscious,” said the police spokeswoman. Both vehicles burned completely. Pastors later took care of the first responders.

The identity of the dead still needs to be determined during an autopsy. Age and gender are still unknown. The age of the pickup truck driver is also not yet known. The public prosecutor’s office is checking whether he should be remanded in custody, as the police spokeswoman reported. He was injured in the accident and is in hospital. Three other vehicles were also damaged in the accident.

The accident site between Heidelberg/Schwetzingen and Kreuz Heidelberg was closed in the direction of Darmstadt for a long time. Road users were asked to avoid the area as much as possible.