Investigation underway

Alcohol-related accident: occupants burned helplessly in car

The burnt-out car. There was no chance of rescue for the occupants.(Bild: FF Lang)

A terrible accident on Saturday night on the Pyhrn highway near Lebring (Styria). A drunk driver (38), who was also driving far too fast, crashed into a car from Hungary. The car burnt out completely and two people died.

On Saturday night, a 38-year-old man from the Leibnitz district got behind the wheel of his car while heavily intoxicated and, according to the police, sped along the Pyhrnautobahn. While overtaking, he collided with a Hungarian car in which two people were sitting. The impact caused the Hungarian car to catch fire - and burn out completely. The two occupants were unable to free themselves from the flames and burned helplessly.

Autopsy ordered
The 38-year-old suffered only minor injuries. The A9 had to be temporarily closed to all traffic for the clearing and recovery work. According to police spokesman Markus Lamb, the police investigation and forensics are still ongoing.

The burnt-out car. There was no chance of rescue for the occupants.(Bild: FF Lang)

The Graz public prosecutor's office has ordered an autopsy of the bodies to determine the identity of the two men, among other things. An expert was also commissioned to determine the exact course of the accident.

You are woken from your sleep and go there with the idea of helping. But then you see that nothing is working and wonder whether you could have gotten there faster.

Gottfried Rosenzopf, Kommandant FF Lang

Difficult operations for fire departments too
Gottfried Rosenzopf, commander of the Lebring volunteer fire department, was quickly on the scene with his team: "The initial report was that there was a person in a burning car. When we arrived, the completely deformed small car was fully engulfed in flames. After extinguishing the fire, it turned out that there was a second person in the car."

It was a terrible sight for the emergency crews on the scene, which also made the experienced commander Rosenzopf ponder: "You don't really want to put anyone through something like that. Especially not our younger staff. You're woken up and go there with the idea of helping. But then you see that nothing works and you wonder whether you could have gotten there quicker." 

Intensive work with the team is now on the agenda, says Rosenzopf: "We started this as soon as we arrived, and we'll continue it today around midday." Another thing that is important to him: "During this difficult operation, the cooperation with the other blue light organizations, such as the Red Cross, police and the second fire department in Lebring, worked really well. Thank you for that!"