During ministerial trip

Karner’s bodyguards became lifesavers

Karner personal protection officers saved the life of a driver on the Stockerau expressway. The man probably had an epileptic seizure (symbolic image).(Bild: Antal Imre; Patrick Huber Krone KREATIV,)

Courageous deployment of Interior Minister Karner's bodyguards: the bodyguards became lifesavers at 130 km/h ...

It's currently the talk of the town with the elite Cobra police force. On Thursday evening, dramatic scenes unfolded during a business trip by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) on the Stockerau expressway in Lower Austria. What had happened? At 130 km/h in the dark at around 7 p.m., the bodyguards at the wheel or in the rear of the armored ministerial escort vehicle noticed a car parked crosswise in the middle of the road between the first and second lanes near Grafenwörth in the direction of Krems an der Donau - danger to life!

Medical emergency - car window smashed
The elite police officers, who in addition to personal protection in plain clothes are also trained for terror operations and the arrest of serious criminals, reacted immediately with presence of mind. They stopped their service limousine behind the car and looked inside: there they saw a motionless person - as it later turned out, an acute medical emergency, apparently an epileptic seizure - slumped behind the steering wheel. The minister's bodyguards then smashed the passenger-side window with a flashlight and administered first aid. The 33-year-old driver regained consciousness thanks to the swift and perfect rescue chain of the minister's bodyguards.

An emergency doctor, who was alerted at the same time, continued to treat the man on the highway and the patient was taken to the Tulln Regional Hospital for medical clarification.

Karner bodyguards saved the life of a driver on the Stockerau expressway. The man probably had an epileptic seizure (symbolic image).(Bild: Antal Imre; Patrick Huber Krone KREATIV,)

Protection also prevented accident drama
The young man is now on the road to recovery. Thanks to the rapid intervention of the task force and the safety measures taken by officers from the Krems highway police station at the scene of the accident, the driver was ultimately rescued - and a possible accident drama due to the vehicle being parked sideways was prevented.