A M915A5 line-haul tractor-trailer similar to this one shown in 2018 was involved in a two-vehicle accident Feb. 9, 2023, on autobahn A6 near Kirchberg an der Jagst, Germany. (Adrian Silva/U.S. Army)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — A U.S. soldier was airlifted to a hospital and three others were injured Thursday after two Army trucks carrying weapons collided on a major autobahn near Kirchberg an der Jagst in Germany.
The soldiers were transporting tons of missiles and munitions in a five-vehicle convoy of M915A5 tractor-trailers at about 3 p.m., when the driver of the third vehicle misjudged the distance while changing lanes, Aalen city police said Friday. The cab then collided with the left rear corner of the truck in front of it, police said.
The cab of the merging truck was torn off by the impact and the vehicle caught fire, according to a police statement Friday. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire, police said.
“The driver and passenger of the truck that caused the accident were seriously injured in the accident. Those in the vehicle they hit suffered slight injuries,” Aalen police spokesman Bernd Maerkle told Stars and Stripes on Friday.
The passenger in the third truck was evacuated by helicopter to University Hospital Wurzburg and is expected to be transferred to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for further care, police said Friday.
The soldiers in the second truck of the convoy and the driver of the third vehicle had minor injuries and were transported to the hospital by ambulance.
The fourth and fifth trucks avoided the accident and stopped on the side of the road.
An update on the soldiers’ conditions was unavailable Friday.
The convoy of 21st Theater Sustainment Command vehicles was on its way to the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Bavaria on a routine supply mission, said command spokesman Maj. Vonnie Wright.
The accident occurred about two hours west of Grafenwoehr.
“We are thankful for the expedient response of our host nation partners and the premier care exhibited by the medical staff for our soldiers involved within this unfortunate incident,” Wright said in a statement Friday.
Although the trucks were carrying explosives, the danger was limited because no detonators were attached, according to police.
U.S. Army munitions experts who arrived on the scene determined that the weapons, which were transferred to other trucks, weren’t damaged during the collision.
The hazardous cargo delayed recovery of the trucks well into Friday.
Parts of the A6, one of the country’s most-traveled east-west autobahns, were closed for about 17 hours. Westbound lanes opened around 4 a.m. while lanes in the direction of Nuremberg opened between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Friday.
