Caught in a skid

Eleven car accidents due to sleet showers in Upper Austria

The fire department had their hands full due to the sleet showers on the Westautobahn.(Bild: laumat)

Eleven traffic accidents occurred on the A1 highway in the Upper Austrian lake district on Saturday afternoon due to sudden sleet showers. Vehicles with summer tires skidded.

Due to the weather conditions on Saturday, there was a heavy accumulation of ice grains on a stretch of only a few hundred meters. This suddenly changed the driving conditions, reported the Upper Austrian police. Cars with summer tires skidded and crashed into the guard rails.

Heavily damaged cars
Near Straß im Attergau, seven vehicles skidded due to the grains of ice on the road. Two cars touched the crash barrier but came to a halt on the emergency lane.

Shortly afterwards, five more cars skidded. The car of a 58-year-old German crashed into the rear of a minibus driven by a 38-year-old Romanian. The car and the minibus were severely damaged. There were eight other people in the minibus, all of whom were uninjured. The German and his wife were also uninjured, but were taken to Vöcklabruck Hospital for a check-up - both were able to leave the hospital that same evening.