Boys survived

Many guardian angels were at work in horror crash

The rescue workers could not believe that the two boys were able to leave the completely destroyed car on their own.(Bild: TEAM FOTOKERSCHI / BAYER)

After an accident between Fraham and Alkoven (Upper Austria), a car was almost completely trapped under a semi-trailer truck and the roof was torn off. But the driver (18) and his passenger (17) survived the accident and left the wreckage on their own. How did this miracle happen?

"I've seen a lot of accidents, but these two young men were very lucky," says Christoph Schönlechner, ÖAMTC expert for traffic engineering and accident research. He is referring to the crash that shocked the whole of Austria on Wednesday. An 18-year-old and his 17-year-old co-driver crashed into a truck between Fraham and Alkoven, which was about to turn onto the B 129. The vehicle - a red Nissan - plunged under the truck just before the rear axle.

This is what the scene of the accident looked like from above.(Bild: Lauber/laumat.at Matthias)

Light and low
"The problem with accidents of this kind is that the A-pillar is pushed backwards," says Schönlechner. As a rule, such accidents would end fatally, but the fact that the car is very low and light may have helped the boys, according to the expert.

The car was completely destroyed.(Bild: Hermann KOLLINGER)

Terrible picture
So much so that the two were able to free themselves from the car. By the time the rescue team arrived at the scene of the accident, they had already climbed out of the wreck. "The picture we saw was terrible, but the two accident victims were already out and always responsive. But they hadn't yet realized exactly what had happened. We treated them immediately and discussed the next steps with them," says emergency doctor Frank Langfellner, who was the first to arrive at the scene of the accident.

But even for him, who has already experienced a lot, it was clear: "I've never seen anything like this before". The two boys are on the road to recovery. It will probably be a while before they fully realize how lucky they were.