Traffic jam overlooked

One dead in a devastating rear-end collision on the A2

The emergency services were faced with a terrible scene.(Bild: Feuerwehr Hartberg)

Due to the slow-moving traffic on the southern highway near Hartberg in the direction of Vienna on Thursday morning, a truck driver from Poland had to brake sharply. The truck driver following behind must have overlooked this - he hit the vehicle in front of him with full force.

At around 9.40 a.m., a 40-year-old truck driver from Poland was driving on the A2 in the direction of Vienna when he almost had to bring his articulated truck to a halt at Sankt Johann an der Haide due to the traffic situation.

No skid marks
"The Hungarian truck driver (72) following behind presumably overlooked the braking process and hit the trailer of the truck in front of him with full force," said a statement from the Styrian Provincial Police Directorate.

The 72-year-old Hungarian had to be pulled out of the cab by the Hartberg fire department. However, the emergency doctor who arrived at the same time was only able to determine that the man had died.

Traffic jam in the direction of Vienna
Nobody else was injured. The A2 in the direction of Vienna was closed to all traffic until around 11 am.