On June 3, 2022, a regional train derailed on the way from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Munich. Five people die and dozens are injured. How a US soldier became a hero – and why the tragedy will continue to have an impact for a long time.
Even a year later, Charles Bergman’s story still sounds like a Hollywood writer had written the opening scene of a new disaster movie. Only this story is true. At noon on June 3, 2022, Bergman, a US soldier stationed in Bavaria, drove in a car towards Garmisch-Partenkirchen. He wants to meet his wife there, they want to travel to Austria over Pentecost. It’s a summery Friday, Bergman is early, so he’s leisurely driving behind a mobile home on the B2 when it suddenly swerves into the left lane. Strange, Bergman thinks, but then a cloud of debris, dirt and dust flies towards him. “What the hell?” he wonders. This is how the 52-year-old remembers today.