A catastrophic multi-vehicle collision on the S7 highway near Gdansk, northern Poland, has resulted in four deaths, including two young boys, and left 15 others injured. The incident, which occurred late Friday night, involved 21 vehicles and has prompted Polish prosecutors to pursue charges against a truck driver believed to be responsible for initiating the chain-reaction crash.
Mariusz Duszyński, spokesman for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Gdansk, announced at a Sunday news conference that prosecutors intend to charge a 37-year-old truck driver with causing a traffic disaster that endangered the lives and health of many people. According to Duszyński, the truck was traveling at 89 kph (55 mph) in an area with an 80 kph (50 mph) speed limit and failed to brake before colliding with the car in front of it.
The pileup involved 18 passenger cars and three trucks, carrying a total of 56 people. Among the four fatalities were two boys, aged 7 and 10, who were traveling in one of the cars involved in the collision. Authorities are still working to identify the other two deceased victims.
The accident began when the truck collided with a car, triggering a devastating chain reaction. Duszyński confirmed that the truck driver was sober and not using his phone at the time of the crash. Footage from private broadcaster TVN24 showed the suspect being taken to the prosecutor’s office to face charges.
AP
