30-year-old victim

Series of fatal accidents on our roads continues

Around 40 firefighters were deployed and the entire Traunsee tunnel chain was closed for around three hours for clean-up work following the tragic accident.(Bild: FF Ebensee)

In the Bartelkreuz tunnel in Ebensee, the 30-year-old hit the kerb and then the other lane - resulting in a fatal collision with a car in oncoming traffic. This was the fourth road traffic fatality in Upper Austria within 24 hours.

Four fatalities within 24 hours - a tragic series of road accidents has shaken Upper Austria. Late on Monday evening, three people lost their lives on the roads: A family man (49) from Molln and two men from Steyr (38 and 43). And on Tuesday evening, a 30-year-old man also died in an accident in the Bartelkreuz tunnel in Ebensee.

Driven off the kerb into the oncoming lane
The man from Altmünster suddenly hit the kerb on the B 145 at around 7 p.m. and then probably drove into the oncoming lane - causing a collision with the car of a 43-year-old man from Bad Ischl, who survived the accident with injuries. The 30-year-old, on the other hand, was trapped in the wreckage of his car and the fire department freed him using hydraulic rescue equipment.

Quickly freed from the wreck
"We had him out within a few minutes, it couldn't have gone any faster," says commander Christoph Pilz from the Ebensee fire brigade after the dramatic operation. Nevertheless, the subsequent resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful and the rescue workers were only able to determine that the 30-year-old had died.

Altmünster's mayor Martin Pelzer was shocked after the death of his young local citizen in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper: "It's a tragic accident. When it happens in your own town, it hits you even harder. My deepest sympathy goes out to the relatives and friends."

Already 68 road deaths this year
Even if the latest series of accidents suggests otherwise, the number of fatalities on Upper Austria's roads this year is - unfortunately - in line with the sad average. According to the mobility organization VCÖ, 68 people have died on the roads so far in 2024, compared to 73 in the same period last year. The main causes of accidents this year were inappropriate speed and distraction.