Father of two died

“The whole village was hoping for a miracle”

The accident victim was treated at the Neuromed Campus.(Bild: Kerschbaummayr Werner)

Shock and grief reign in the 1500-inhabitant community of Peilstein in the Upper Mühlviertel (Upper Austria). There is currently only one topic: the tragic death of the "eternal top scorer" of the local sports union and father of two, Rudolf. W., who was only 35 years old.

The trained electrician, who had most recently worked as a CNC technician, fell three meters down a wall two weeks ago while on a local tour with friends in Oepping. When his friends were worried because Rudi didn't make it to the disco, they went looking for him. He was lying on the stone floor of a driveway and was no longer responsive. The man from Mühlviertel was admitted to the Neuromed Campus in Linz, where he died on Wednesday as a result of his traumatic brain injury.

"The whole community is deeply saddened"
"We all hoped and prayed that a miracle would happen. The whole community is deeply saddened," said Severin Neudorfer, head of the Peilstein Sports Union, to the Krone. "Rudi was such a cheerful and optimistic person. There are simply no words. We are all deeply shocked by what has happened."

"Was there the night the accident happened"
Fellow footballer and official Wolfgang Höfler is also in mourning: "Rudi was not only our top scorer, but also captain of the team and a board member of our club. I'm one of his closest friends and was there the night of the accident. He hit his head on the asphalt. There was hope that it wouldn't end so badly."

Rudi W. leaves behind his wife and two small children. His daughter is four years old and his son is three. The young family had moved into the house they shared in 2020.