16-year-old in life-threatening condition after car surfing accident

A 16-year-old is in life-threatening condition after falling from a moving car in St. Margarethen an der Raab in the Weiz district, ORF reported. The accident happened overnight into Monday.

Several teenagers had been holding on to the outside of the car at a supermarket car park. Shortly after midnight, the 16-year-old could no longer hold on, fell onto the asphalt and suffered severe head injuries and heavy bleeding.

He was unconscious and unresponsive when emergency responders arrived. After receiving first aid from other teenagers, he was treated by the Red Cross and an emergency doctor.

Because of his life-threatening head injuries, he was placed in a medically induced coma at the scene and flown by the C17 emergency medical helicopter to the shock room of the paediatric surgery department in Graz, police said.

Five teenagers and young adults from the Weiz district, aged between 16 and 18, took part in the activity. Four of them climbed onto the car’s rear bumper and held on to the roof rails. An 18-year-old then drove a lap around the car park. Police said the driver was not under the influence of alcohol and are investigating.

A similar accident occurred in July in Leibnitz, when a 19-year-old fell from a moving car and hit his head on the asphalt.