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Six cars and a truck had an accident on the A66 near Schlüchtern on Friday. Several people were injured.
+++ 4:24 p.m.: Seven vehicles involved, five slightly injured and property damage of more than 100,000 euros – this is what the police drew after the serious accident on Friday morning on Autobahn 66 between Schlüchtern-Nord and Schlüchtern-Süd.
Accident involving seven vehicles on the A66 near Schlüchtern
According to the police's previous findings, a tractor-trailer had initially skidded and crossed the right lane and the hard shoulder. As a result, six other vehicles, all cars, braked. The drivers lost control. A BMW 5 Series broke through the guardrail and came to a stop on an embankment, while a BMW 420i ended up in a ditch.
There were a total of 17 people in the seven vehicles. As the officials announced in the afternoon, five people were injured: a 51-year-old Skoda driver, his 19 and 45-year-old passengers, a 19-year-old passenger in the 5 Series BMW and a 52-year-old driver of a Ford Tourneo, who was taken to hospital for further evaluation. There was initially talk of twelve injuries at the accident site (see update from 1:29 p.m.).
Due to the towing and clean-up work, the road in the direction of Hanau was temporarily completely closed, and traffic was temporarily led past the accident site in the left lane. This roadway was fully reopened around 3:30 p.m.
Shortly after the first accident, another accident occurred in the opposite direction. An emergency service vehicle, a white Skoda, which was on the way to the first accident site, crashed into the right guard rail near Schlüchtern-Süd – presumably also as a result of the weather conditions, as it is said. The driver remained uninjured. The damage to the emergency vehicle, which was no longer roadworthy and towed away, is estimated at around 6,000 euros.
Sleet showers surprise drivers – mass crash on the A66
Update from May 15th, 1:29 p.m.: After the serious accident involving several vehicles on the A66 between Schlüchtern-Nord and Schlüchtern-Süd in the direction of Hanau, further details have now become known. According to the fire department, a total of six cars and two trucks were involved in the accident – one of the trucks had spun on the highway.
As operations manager Dominique Huhn from the Schlüchtern fire department explained, the emergency services were originally alerted because of an oil spill. During the journey, the control center also reported a traffic accident with a person trapped on the A66 in the direction of Hanau.
The rescue service spotted a total of twelve injured people on site. According to an initial assessment, two people were injured moderately, while ten others suffered minor injuries. All patients were distributed to surrounding hospitals.
According to the fire department, 27 forces with seven vehicles and ten ambulances were on duty. Because of the large number of people affected, the situation was upgraded from “MANV 5” to “MANV 10” during the course of the operation. In addition to forces from the Main-Kinzig district, rescue services from Fulda and Vogelsberg were also on duty.
A sudden onset of sleet is considered a possible cause. While there was hardly any rain in Schlüchtern's city center, according to the fire department, the roads on the highway in the Distelrasen area were suddenly slippery. In some places there was even snow there. “That was probably the surprise for drivers,” said Huhn.
Accident hinders traffic on the A66 near Schlüchtern
First report from May 15th, 11:27 a.m.:
Schlüchtern – There are currently traffic delays on Autobahn 66. According to the police, an accident involving several vehicles occurred between the Schlüchtern-Nord and Schlüchtern-Süd junctions in the direction of Hanau.
The fire brigade and police are on duty. Drivers are asked to avoid the area as much as possible.
There was also a serious accident in East Hesse the day before, on Ascension Day. Two cars collided head-on near Grebenau in Vogelsberg. A 64-year-old was flown to hospital by helicopter.
