In an accident involving four transport vehicles on fire on the A3, one person was seriously injured and the damage was estimated at around one million euros. A tractor-trailer had collided with a tow truck on the hard shoulder on the highway near Helmstadt (Würzburg district), the police said.
It was initially unclear why the 54-year-old driver left the road to the right with his semitrailer on Wednesday. At the time of the collision, breakdown workers were in the process of preparing a broken-down semitrailer for towing with the help of two transport vehicles. The impact rotated one of the two tow trucks almost 180 degrees and pushed it into the other two on the hard shoulder. A 26-year-old breakdown worker who stood between them was seriously injured. Another employee and the 54-year-old driver of the semitrailer were slightly injured. Paramedics took the three men to the hospital.
The tractor-trailer truck that caused the accident, with 23 tons of plastic granules on board, burst into flames shortly after the accident. The fire also spread to the other three vehicles. A column of black smoke was formed, which, according to the information, could still be seen from up to 15 kilometers away. The property damage is estimated at around one million euros.