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Germany Confronts Fatal Crash Case and Tram Derailment as Authorities Tighten Probes

Investigators now cite driver conduct with ice-slick roads as key factors, prompting charges and operational measures.

Overview

  • A 31-year-old is in custody on suspicion of murder over a November Offenbach collision that killed three, with prosecutors also alleging a solo illegal street race and a dangerous interference with traffic.
  • Police and Rheinbahn say driver behavior likely caused the Düsseldorf-Holthausen streetcar derailment that injured 13; the operator has initiated personnel action and pulled the driver’s operating license pending the probe.
  • Severe winter conditions triggered closures and crashes, including an overturned truck trailer that shut the A72 near Stollberg and a jackknifed 40-tonne rig on the A9 near Berg that spilled diesel and damaged barriers.
  • A 37-year-old driver died after striking a bridge pillar on the A67 near Darmstadt, with forensic analysis ordered and the northbound carriageway closed for hours during the investigation.
  • Police report additional incidents under review, including a Leipzig intersection crash that injured a cyclist, a pyrotechnics-laden van striking a Delitzsch rail underpass later deemed structurally sound, an A2 arrest of a driver testing over five per mille, and a Prüm witness appeal after shots were reported from a moving car.