Overview
- Düsseldorf-Holthausen update: police opened a case against the tram driver for suspected negligent bodily harm after November’s derailment, Rheinbahn says the cause was behavior-related rather than technical, and the driver’s operating license has been withdrawn.
- In Hannover, a Stadtbahn struck an Audi near Messe Ost, dragged and wedged it between the train and a mast, and firefighters freed three occupants who were hospitalized with light injuries; the derailed train was re-railed and police are investigating.
- Essen emergency crews resuscitated a woman who was pinned between a reversing car and a building on Steeler Straße before transporting her to the university clinic, while the driver received care as detectives examine the cause.
- Autobahn police in Gelsenkirchen report stopping a 52-year-old on the A2 on December 24 after erratic driving; a breath test exceeded five per mille and a criminal investigation is proceeding.
- Police say a 69-year-old from Oberhausen, seriously hurt in a Sunday crash on the B229 in the Hochsauerlandkreis, died later in hospital.