Two dead after collision between car and ambulance
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Two people died in a traffic accident in Taxenbach (Pinzgau) on Saturday evening. According to the police, a car driver on the B311 got into the oncoming lane and collided head-on with an oncoming ambulance. The patient who was transported in it also suffered fatal operations. Two other people were injured.
Shortly after 5:30 p.m., the serious collision occurred on Pinzgauer Straße. According to the police, the driver from the Hallein (Tennengau) district lost control of his vehicle and collided with oncoming traffic for reasons that are still unclear.
The driver of the car died immediately, as did the patient, who was an ambulance on the way to the hospital in Schwarzach (Pongau), fatal accidents.
Helicopter whip patients to the university hospital
The driver of the ambulance was trapped behind the wheel and was seriously injured. He was flown to the university hospital in Salzburg with the emergency doctor helicopter. The second paramedic, a 19-year-old civil servant, was in the back of the vehicle with the patient and was slightly injured in the collision.
Accident expert reconstructed course of events
In order to clarify the exact cause of the accident, the Salzburg public prosecutor ordered the involvement of the sworn accident expert Gerhard Kronreif. The Salzburg specialist determined that evening at the scene of the accident in Taxenbach: “The accident will be reconstructed on site, then the confiscated vehicles will be examined and it will be shown exactly how the accident happened and who could have avoided the accident,” said Kronreif .
Challenging assignment for emergency services
The 76-year-old patient who died in the accident was a local – the burden on the emergency services was great, said the Pinzgau district fire brigade commander Klaus Portenkirchner: “It is difficult for the forces deployed. We have psychological support for such a case.” Pinzgauer Strasse was closed for several hours while the Trattenbach tunnel was being cleared up.