Suche
Heart attack at the wheel: tragic accident on the A9 near Lederhose
Car accident on the BAB 9 near Lederhose: A heart attack leads to a tragic collision with three vehicles on September 23rd, 2025.
Heart attack at the wheel: tragic accident on the A9 near Lederhose
A tragic traffic accident on the A9 motorway near Lederhose is making sad headlines. At around 10:50 a.m. on Monday morning, three vehicles collided, which was caused by a sudden medical emergency. Loud news.de The accident occurred in the direction of Berlin, between the Lederhose and Hermsdorf Süd junctions.
The 56-year-old driver of a VW Tiguan from the Leipzig area suffered a heart attack while driving, which had fatal consequences. He lost consciousness and drove into a Ford S-Max that was in the right lane without braking. The impact resulted in a collision with a 1 Series BMW in the left lane. Eventually the damaged vehicles stopped across the road and the VW came to a stop halfway on the hard shoulder.
Rescuers on site
Despite immediate first aid measures and attempts at resuscitation, the VW driver died at the scene of the accident. Fortunately, the passenger in the Ford was only slightly injured, so there were no further injuries. The total property damage is estimated at around 20,000 euros, and the VW was no longer drivable and had to be towed away.
Such tragic incidents also raise questions about fitness to drive. According to a report by the medical journal Drivers must meet physical and mental requirements to drive a motor vehicle. If you have existing illnesses, especially cardiovascular ones, the question of driving license arises. Illnesses such as coronary heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias or past heart attacks can lead to unfitness to drive.
Heart attacks and road safety
In Germany, sudden medical emergencies that lead to traffic accidents are not systematically recorded, but estimates show that around 1.5 out of 1,000 accidents can be traced back to such illnesses. In other countries, such as Finland and Switzerland, an even higher proportion of road deaths are attributed to sudden unconsciousness, highlighting the need for regular medical examinations.
The tragic events on the A9 are a clear reminder to regularly check your fitness to drive, especially for older drivers or people with known heart disease. The legal framework requires doctors to inform patients about their possible lack of fitness to drive, but this often cannot happen in practice.
Another sad incident that recently took place in Austria is that of a 77-year-old driver in Köflach, who was also involved in an accident due to a heart attack and died on the spot despite rescue attempts, as krone.at reported.
These tragic accidents should make it clear to us how important it is to keep an eye on your own health and, if necessary, seek medical advice in a timely manner. Our condolences go out to the affected families and friends during these difficult times.