Long queues: a morning accident on the highway near Říčany stopped traffic in both directions
It was not without breakdowns and delays – and due to the fact that the traffic from the highway largely spilled over to the old Benešov road, delays were not avoided even for the morning services on the lines that run along it. They arrived in Prague half an hour late. For journeys from Beneš, the Prague integrated transport headquarters recommended that passengers use trains.
First, before five o’clock, at the 13th kilometer in the direction of travel to Prague, the police noticed a malfunction: a parked truck with a diesel leak. Before long, an accident happened nearby, when several vehicles collided in the direction of Brno: a truck, a van – and, according to preliminary data from the fire department, other cars also joined.
Ladislav Holomčík from the headquarters of the central Bohemian fire department later clarified that several accidents were reported in both directions in the section between the Modletice and Všechromy intersections, i.e. between the 12th and 15th kilometers.
Video: The car was left hanging in the trees after the accident. The driver ended up in the hospital
“The collision between a truck and a van near the 13th kilometer in the direction from Prague to Brno apparently started everything,” he confirmed information from the scene. “Other cars crashed into the crashed vehicles or their broken parts as well as the spilled cargo and completely blocked the highway. However, the debris also got through the central guardrails in the opposite direction to Prague, where several cars and trucks also gradually crashed,” he stated. Police spokesman Pavel Truxa confirmed several minor accidents there.
The rescuers took one of the drivers to the Vinohrady hospital with a suspected concussion. He also needed to treat the hand of the truck, which was burnt while climbing out of the cab. The highway then remained impassable in both directions. And in both lanes, the removal of the consequences could not be done without the assistance of the towing service. Firefighters also had a lot of work in both lanes. In the end, more on that in Prague.
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In the direction of the capital, the truck drove about a kilometer with a punctured tractor tank. The stranger behind the wheel initially had no idea that diesel was leaking, and it is impossible to say how many liters might have leaked out. Firefighters first temporarily sealed off the damaged area; subsequently, they pumped about two hundred liters into spare containers that they had brought from the Ríčan station. In view of the assessment of the site and the decision on further measures, a representative of the water authority was also summoned.
“Morning traffic on the Brno highway became very complicated; around eight o’clock, according to information from the drivers, the convoy stretched towards Prague as far as Naháč at the 29th kilometer,” noted Holomčík, pointing to the convoys on all detour routes as well. “The specialized towing service also found itself in a difficult situation, which had to approach the crashed trucks from Mirošovice in a closed oncoming lane,” he recalled.
We were the first to at least partially manage to open the lane in the direction of Brno – i.e. the place where the “main” road occurred. Before 9:30 in the morning, the left lane was cleared and the convoy started moving; soon another lane joined. According to the police, the opening of the direction to Prague had to be preceded by the removal of leaked operating fluids. It was done after nine o’clock. Traffic was completely restored around ten thirty.