Accident in Riefensberg

72-year-old man gets his hand trapped in the rear recess

On Thursday, a 72-year-old man suffered serious injuries to his right hand in an accident in the Bregenzerwald municipality of Riefensberg. The course of the accident was extremely unfortunate.

At around midday, a 73-year-old farmer was driving his tractor on the L24 towards the center of Riefensberg, carrying a 72-year-old friend in the hydraulically controlled rear trough - a closed shovel that can be used to transport small loads. Due to two oncoming cyclists, the driver had to swerve towards a retaining wall on the slope.

He must have misjudged the maneuver, as it went badly wrong: the rear end of the vehicle briefly got caught in the retaining wall and then shot towards the driver's cab like a catapult. The front passenger was thrown onto the asphalt. As if that wasn't enough, the left-hand side of the rear body also crashed to the ground, trapping the 72-year-old's right hand.

The farmer immediately freed his friend from his predicament and called the emergency services. After initial treatment by the emergency doctor, the victim was flown to Feldkirch Regional Hospital by the crew of the Christophorus 8 rescue helicopter. The L24 was closed to all traffic for around an hour due to the accident.