Truck breakdown leads to fatal crash on Austrian A2 motorway

A 24-year-old driver was killed after his car crashed into the rear of a semi-trailer that had stopped on the A2 motorway near Raaba-Grambach in the Graz-Umgebung district on Thursday evening, ORF reported.

A 63-year-old truck driver from Belarus had noticed a truck with Polish registration that appeared to have stopped because of a flat tyre while travelling towards Vienna. He stopped his own vehicle between the first lane and the hard shoulder to assist the other driver.

The 24-year-old man from the Südoststeiermark district then crashed into the rear of the semi-trailer. He suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene. An emergency doctor could only confirm his death.

Police said the Belarusian truck driver was not under the influence of alcohol.

The A2 was closed in both directions at the scene for about two hours, causing heavy traffic. A total of 34 firefighters responded. Police investigations into the exact circumstances of the crash are continuing.