100 drivers fined for blocking rescue services
March 8, 2019
German police are demanding €23,000 ($25,800) in penalties from more than 100 drivers after they failed to form a corridor for rescue services to respond to a severe highway crash.
Police said the drivers blocked a 5 kilometer (3.1 miles) passage of Autobahn 5 between the southwestern cities of Karlsruhe and Heidelberg on Thursday afternoon.
The crash occurred after a truck drove too fast and rear-ended another truck shortly before 2 p.m. local time (1300 UTC).
Read more: Germans at loggerheads over autobahn speed limits
The driver who caused the crash was severely injured and had to be freed from his vehicle by firefighters. A rescue helicopter then transported him to a nearby hospital.
The resulting traffic jam measured 20 kilometers long while rescue services attended to the injured.
Police said the crash resulted in some €50,000 worth of damage.