16-year-old at the wheel

“Parts were scattered within a radius of 30 meters”

The VW is a total loss.(Bild: FF St. Roman)

A night-time joyride by three teenagers ended in a serious collision in Sankt Roman. At the wheel was a 16-year-old without a driver's license. One of the victims is even in mortal danger. The operation was extremely challenging for the helpers, as many of them knew the victims personally.

It was a fatal mistake for an 18-year-old from Münzkirchen to lend his Volkswagen to his 16-year-old work colleague from Esternberg. The car owner knew full well that the younger man did not even have a driver's license.

Carried to the outside on a bend
Nevertheless, the teenager got behind the wheel and the trio - there was another 18-year-old from Münzkirchen in the back seat behind the driver - drove via Sankt Roman towards the 16-year-old's home municipality. At around one o'clock that night, the car was carried outwards in a right-hand bend on a single-lane goods road in Sankt Roman and crashed with full force into a machine hall.

The driver, who did not have a driver's license, crashed the car into this machine hall, the marks are clearly visible.(Bild: FF St. Roman)

The car was then thrown back onto the road. The damage to the vehicle and the house facade indicates that the 16-year-old had obviously been driving too fast.

Passenger rang the bell for residents
"When we arrived at the scene, three people were lying on the ground and being treated by first aiders. We then looked after the injured until the Red Cross arrived. The car parts were scattered within a radius of 30 meters," explains Thomas Auinger, head of operations for the St. Roman fire brigade. The 18-year-old passenger is believed to have started the rescue chain himself. After the serious accident, he dragged himself to the front door around 50 meters away and rang the owner and his wife out of their sleep.

Many of the emergency services knew the three people personally. The car parts were scattered within a radius of 30 meters.

Thomas Auinger, Einsatzleiter von der Freiwilligen Feuerwehr St. Roman

The two and another local resident, who heard the screams for help, immediately took care of the young people. The two seriously injured friends of the car owner were unresponsive after the accident. Both were taken to Passau Hospital, and one of them was said to be in an extremely critical condition on Sunday afternoon.

For the volunteers from the two fire departments, the demanding operation was over after around two hours: "I and many other firefighters knew the victims. That always takes a lot out of you personally," says Auinger.