Then collapsed

Dedicated witness frees driver from wrecked car

An attentive witness to an accident in Burgkirchen (Upper Austria) on Thursday afternoon freed a 27-year-old man from his car after a head-on crash, then the driver suddenly collapsed. An emergency helicopter flew him to hospital seriously injured.

The two drivers involved in the accident - a 61-year-old Slovakian and a Malian (27), both from the Innviertel region - were driving in Burgkirchen on Thursday afternoon. The younger driver came off the road with his tires on the right in a slight left-hand bend in the direction of Braunau, but managed to get back onto the road.

However, according to the police, his counter-steering caused him to veer into the other lane, resulting in a head-on crash with the oncoming car driven by the 61-year-old.

Collapsed after being rescued
The second driver was able to free himself from his vehicle and was taken to hospital. The 27-year-old was freed from his car by a courageous witness to the accident. When he was outside the wreckage, he suddenly collapsed and remained lying on the road.

The emergency helicopter took the 27-year-old to hospital in Salzburg with serious injuries.