Overview

• The collision occurred at about 11:43 p.m. on August 17 when a Mercedes carrying two 23-year-olds entered an unguarded level crossing near Manching despite active red flashing lights and was hit by an Ingolstadt–bound Regionalbahn.
• The train’s emergency brakes were applied immediately, but the impact threw the car roughly 25 meters into an embankment and scattered debris over more than 100 meters, killing both occupants on impact.
• The Regionalbahn came to a stop after about 600 meters; all 15 passengers and the conductor escaped injury, while the 50-year-old locomotive driver suffered a severe shock and was treated by medical teams.
• Rail traffic was halted briefly for on-site inspections that found no track damage, and services resumed in the early hours with affected passengers moved onward by replacement buses.
• Bavarian police have launched a formal investigation to reconstruct the sequence of events and assess any potential safety or procedural failures at the crossing.