Truck smashes into motor home in Germany, killing Dutch driver

A Dutch man driving a motor home was killed Monday morning when his vehicle was rear-ended by a truck driver. The victim, a 60-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger, a 60-year-old woman, was taken to an area hospital with life threatening injuries, police in Germany said.

The accident happened at about 9;30 a.m. on Monday as traffic backed up at a construction site in the southbound lates of Autobahn 1 near Wildeshausen-West. The 41-year-old truck driver did not see the traffic jam fast enough, and he smashed into the mobile home. The truck then collided with two other trucks.

The mobile home was at the end of the traffic jam, police said. The truck hit the vehicle "almost without braking," police said.

"The 60-year-old camper driver and his 60-year-old passenger, both from the Netherlands, were trapped in the vehicle and had to be rescued from the vehicle by emergency services." The emergency doctor who arrived on scene pronounced the driver dead. The woman was quickly taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

The truck driver, identified as a man from Langwedel, also suffered minor injuries. He was also treated in a hospital.

The mobile home was completely destroyed in the crash. The other vehicles involved were also badly damaged and had to be towed from the scene, about 30 minutes from Bremen. The cause of the crash was still under investigation.

Reporting by ANP