Großliedl tunnel: accident claimed three lives

Yesterday afternoon there was a serious accident on the southern motorway in the Großliedl tunnel.

BATHROOM ST. LEONHARD. A Styrian woman was traveling on the southern highway in the direction of Vienna when her vehicle stopped in the Großliedl tunnel for currently unknown reasons. A driver behind a semi-trailer truck did not immediately recognize the stopped car and, despite evasive maneuvers, searched the 26-year-old driver who was in the back of his vehicle. Three people died in the accident.

The car stopped

On Tuesday October 27, 2020, around 3:50 pm, a 26-year-old woman from the Graz area drove her car down the Südautobahn (A2) towards the Großliedl tunnel, which is located on the Schiefling level. He was heading towards Vienna. There were three other people in the car: a 91-year-old man, a 79-year-old woman, and a 14-year-old student, all from the Graz area. The vehicle suddenly stopped in the tunnel for currently unknown reasons.

Driver hit by truck

The driver got out and went to the rear of the car, while the other three people stayed in the vehicle. A truck driver who followed him did not immediately recognize the vehicle stopped in the tunnel, so the tragedy occurred: the 35-year-old driver from Bosnia tried to swerve to the left with his tractor-trailer, but in the course of this he surprised the 26-year-old man with his truck Driver. He suffered fatal injuries. With the right side of the vehicle, the driver struck the rear of the stationary car, which was thrown about 60 meters forward.

Two dead passengers

The 79-year-old woman, sitting in the back left, suffered fatal injuries. The 91-year-old man in the front passenger seat and the 14-year-old student were rescued from the vehicle by first responders. After receiving emergency medical attention, rescuers took the 91-year-old man to Wolfsberg State Hospital (LKH), where he succumbed to his serious injuries. The 14-year-old boy was transferred to the Klagenfurt Clinic in the C11 rescue helicopter and also suffered serious injuries.

Blocked for more than four hours

The driver of the articulated truck was not injured in the traffic accident, the breathalyzer test carried out was negative. His vehicle was seriously damaged and the car was wrecked. Three fire brigades from the Wolfsberg district with eleven vehicles and a total of 54 men, the Red Cross, the rescue helicopter and employees of the Wolfsberg highway maintenance department were in action. A motor vehicle expert was called in to investigate the accident by order of the Klagenfurt prosecutor.
According to the Police Inspectorate (PI) Wolfsberg, the section of the highway was closed to traffic from 15:50 to 20:30. A detour was installed via the Bad St. Leonhard junction at Packer Straße.