In the Upper Palatinate, a semitrailer hit a three-year-old girl and her child’s bicycle and dragged her about 50 meters. The girl was only relatively slightly injured in the dramatic accident, a police spokesman said on Thursday. The accident had already happened on Tuesday in Neumarkt.
The 61-year-old truck driver had hit the child when turning at an intersection. The girl wanted to cross the street with her mother. Before the mother’s eyes, the tractor hit the child and the bicycle, which got caught on the truck. The driver did not notice the accident and initially drove on. Witnesses called the 61-year-old’s attention to the emergency situation. “He immediately initiated emergency braking,” said the police spokesman. Despite the minor injuries, the child was taken to a clinic as a precaution and for further treatment. Nothing is known about the health of the mother.
Again and again, truck drivers cause serious accidents when turning in urban areas because they ignore pedestrians or cyclists. These accidents are often fatal. Among others, the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) demands that politicians improve safety when turning with trucks through various measures.