investigations
Fatal fall from the parking garage: car had no license plates
A local resident lights a candle for the dead teenagers in the parking garage. Photo: Roland Weihrauch/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
After the death of two teenagers on Easter Sunday in Essen, many questions are still unanswered: Was the crash from the car park roof preceded by a daring driving maneuver? And who owns the car?
In the case of the fatal car crash from a parking garage roof in Essen, it is still unclear where the car came from. Police said there were no license plates on the car. A spokeswoman said on Tuesday that none were found inside the car either.
The police also do not yet know who was behind the wheel. The 19-year-old did not have a driver’s license, the spokeswoman said. The 16-year-old was still too young for a car driver’s license.
demarcation broken
On Sunday evening, the two young men broke through a barrier with their car on the top level of the multi-storey car park in Essen-Borbeck for reasons that are still unclear. They fell more than 15 meters in the vehicle. In order to free the two occupants from the car wreck, the fire brigade cut off parts of the roof. The teenagers were taken to a clinic, but only their deaths could be determined shortly after arrival. The 19-year-old came from Essen, the 16-year-old from Herne. Relatives had come to the crash site on the evening of the accident. They were cared for by emergency chaplains.
According to initial investigations, the two had been spotted in the vehicle in the hours before the accident in the greater Essen-Borbeck area. The car is said to have been on the road without a license plate.
A blood test should clarify whether alcohol or drugs could have played a role. A result will only be available in a few days. According to the spokeswoman, an autopsy is not planned. The investigators hope to get more information about what happened by questioning witnesses. They were “in the vicinity of the parking garage”. The police did not provide any further details.
Skid marks are examined
Skid marks on the parking deck are also to be examined. The police want to find out if the two drifted before the crash. Drifting is about letting the rear of the vehicle swerve in a controlled manner when cornering. The police have no indication that other vehicles were on the roof of the parking garage at the time. It should also be checked who has access to the parking garage “to clarify how the parking garage is accessible”.
On the second day after the accident, the death of the two teenagers affected many people. A local resident came and lit a candle near the site of the crash. Stuffed animals and flowers had also been placed there as a sign of sympathy. On Tuesday, workers on the parking deck were preparing to repair the barrier the car had breached.