A car collision with a tram in Vienna-Favoriten on Tuesday morning has left three people injured, with one seriously injured individual taken to the hospital. The professional fire brigade in Vienna was called to the scene of the accident to free the driver who was trapped in his vehicle with heavy equipment. Two people on tram line 1 were also injured and suffered cracked bruises or bruises, according to the professional rescue service. According to fire department spokesman Jürgen Figerl, the tram crashed into the driver’s side of the car, pushing it about ten meters further and causing it to derail.
The car was severely damaged and the driver was trapped, requiring heavy equipment to be used by the fire brigade to free them. The driver reportedly suffered from polytrauma and was taken to the trauma room at the hospital.
The professional fire brigade, which was deployed at the scene of the accident on Knöllgasse with eight vehicles and 30 workers, first secured the tram and the car so that they could not roll away. Fire protection was also set up, and firefighters used heavy hydraulic shears and spreaders to dismantle the car’s doors and roof.
In consultation with the rescue team’s emergency doctor, the backrests of the front car seats were removed and the seriously injured person was carefully removed from the vehicle, said Figerl. In addition to the driver, one passenger on the tram was also slightly injured. The professional fire brigade was deployed with several teams to assist with the rescue and provide aid to the injured.
All three injured individuals were hospitalized for treatment. According to a spokesperson for Wiener Linien, the intersection where the accident occurred has stop signs on Buchengasse. “A car coming from the right from Buchengasse ignored one of these stop signs and drove into the tram, causing it to derail in the front area,” she described the course of the accident.
After the accident, the damaged car was towed away while the tram set was re-railed and removed by Wiener Linien. Knöllgasse was closed to traffic from around 6.30 a.m. during the two-hour operation. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the accident. This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of traffic safety and following traffic rules, especially at intersections.
Neglecting stop signs and traffic signals can result in serious accidents and injuries, as seen in this case. It is also essential to have proper emergency response plans in place, as demonstrated by the swift and efficient response of the professional fire brigade in Vienna.