Several accidents on the A3 near Bessenbach and Aschaffenburg

Several traffic accidents occurred on the A3 on Wednesday evening. At around 7.30 p.m. there was a collision between an Audi and a Volvo. Both vehicles were heading towards Würzburg. The accident occurred shortly before the Bessenbach/Waldaschaff junction.

The Audi overturned several times. The driver was extricated from his vehicle by first responders and the first traffic police patrol to arrive. He was flown to a hospital in a rescue helicopter with serious injuries. The Audi caught fire after the accident and had to be extinguished by the fire brigade.

The driver of the Volvo escaped with minor injuries. He and two first responders, who suffered mild smoke inhalation, were also taken to hospitals. Another first responder was examined by paramedics but did not need to be taken to a hospital. An expert was commissioned to clarify the course of the accident. The A3 was completely blocked in the direction of Würzburg. Both cars were totaled around 60,000 euros.

Subsequent accident probably due to traffic jams

As a result of the previous collision, another fatal accident occurred around 8:30 p.m. on the A3 near Aschaffenburg. The driver of an empty tanker truck probably recognized the end of the traffic jam too late and hit a trailer truck with great force. The 51-year-old driver of the tanker was trapped in his vehicle and injured so badly that he died at the scene of the accident. A rescue helicopter was also alerted to this accident and the A3 was completely closed. Here, too, an expert was called in to clarify the accident in detail.

At the second scene of the accident, a fire engine got stuck on the rotor blade of the rescue helicopter that had landed and damaged it so badly that the helicopter could no longer start. A salvage company with a low-loader and crane had to move in. The helicopter was partially disassembled, loaded onto the low-loader and transported away. The salvage and clean-up work went on until the early hours of the morning. The Autobahn in the direction of Würzburg was completely closed until around 5 a.m.

According to initial estimates, the second accident involving the rescue helicopter caused damage of several hundred thousand euros.

rah/mci/seub/lady/dpa

+++ Original police report +++

On Wednesday evening, a tanker truck driver lost his life in an accident on the A3. He drove his truck into a trailer truck in front. In the course of the large-scale rescue operation, a rescue helicopter was damaged and has to be salvaged in a laborious manner. The A3 had to be completely closed for several hours in the direction of Nuremberg.

At around 8:30 p.m., the 51-year-old driver of a tanker truck drove into an articulated lorry that was at the end of a traffic jam. The 51-year-old was trapped in his driver’s cab and suffered serious injuries as a result of the collision. An emergency doctor who was called could only determine the death of the man.

A rescue helicopter called to the scene of the accident, which had landed on the roadway at the scene of the accident, was damaged on the rotor by an ambulance during the rescue measures and could then no longer be flown. The helicopter has to be loaded onto a low-loader and taken to a shipyard in this way.

The traffic police inspection Aschaffenburg took over the investigation into the cause of the accident, which is supported by an expert. The BAB 3 must be completely closed in the direction of Nuremberg for the duration of the accident investigation and the recovery of the rescue helicopter. A detour has been set up.

Source: Lower Franconia Police Headquarters