There had not been a day in Bolesławiec County for a long time on which five car accidents occurred. Saturday, 23 June, began disastrously for the county’s emergency services—with a collision involving two passenger cars in Krzyżowa, Gromadka Commune. The incident occurred at the main intersection in the centre of the village. The emergency services transported the injured people to hospital (the ambulance service) and removed the effects of petroleum-substance leakage onto the road surface (the fire service).
Further, almost simultaneous incidents occurred shortly after 6:00 p.m. At the intersection of Podgórna and Ślusarska Streets in Bolesławiec, a Wartburg, probably as a result of the driver’s inattention, crashed into the rear of a VW Passat. The Passat passenger, who complained of spinal pain, was taken to hospital. At the same time, in Zabłocie, an Opel Omega passenger car ran off the road on a bend. The two people in the vehicle at the time of the accident were taken to the hospital in Bolesławiec.
Before 8:00 p.m., between Czerna and Wykroty, on national road no. 4, an accident occurred that could have had the most tragic consequences. Three lorries were involved (including two Volvo tractor units with trailers and a Mercedes), as well as a Fiat Punto passenger car and a VW Transporter van. A tractor unit with a trailer travelling from the direction of Zgorzelec and carrying approximately 24 tonnes of sheet glass skidded and overturned onto its side, blocking the entire width of the road. The driver of another lorry with a trailer travelling ahead of it, attempting to avoid a collision, struck a lorry in front of him carrying cages of pigeons. The Fiat Punto and VW Transporter travelling in the opposite direction swerved off the road to avoid the crash. The Fiat Punto driver was the luckiest of all: his vehicle missed the lorry by literally just a few centimetres, ran into a ditch and came to a stop against a roadside cross.
As if that were not enough, the PSP units taking part in the rescue operation on road no. 4 were called to Wilczy Las shortly after arriving at the scene. Two cars had collided there; one ran off the road and overturned in a roadside ditch. Thanks to the efficient actions of the firefighter-rescuers, they managed to restore the injured driver’s heartbeat. He was taken to hospital.
(information and photos by M.G. Lickiewicz/GA)