Five injured after car collides with ambulance in Styria

Five people were injured, some seriously, when a car collided with an ambulance at a junction in Mitterberg-St. Martin in the Liezen district on Thursday, ORF reported. Police said the 55-year-old car driver from Carinthia was heavily intoxicated.

The driver had turned from a car park onto the Ennstal Road, known as the B320, to continue towards Liezen. He apparently failed to see the approaching ambulance, driven by a 49-year-old man from the Liezen district.

The ambulance driver was unable to brake in time. The vehicle first struck the car on its side and then collided with a guardrail. The force of the impact sent the car over an embankment.

The car driver and his 59-year-old passenger suffered injuries that were in some cases serious. The ambulance driver and his two passengers, both aged 20, sustained injuries of unspecified severity. All five were taken to Schladming Hospital.

A breathalyser test showed that the car driver was heavily intoxicated, according to police. The B320 was closed to all traffic for more than an hour. Several police patrols, an emergency medical helicopter, the Red Cross and firefighters with a total of 21 responders attended the scene.