Army
Soldiers injured in German autobahn truck crash recovering well, Army officials say
Stars and Stripes
February 14, 2023
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)
A soldier who was seriously injured when two U.S. military trucks carrying weapons collided on a German autobahn last week is recovering at an Army hospital, service officials said Tuesday.
The soldier was one of four injured Thursday afternoon in an accident involving a five-vehicle convoy of M915A5 tractor-trailers on the A6 highway near Kirchberg an der Jagst, which is about 45 minutes west of the Army’s post in Ansbach.
The driver of the third truck misjudged the distance while changing lanes and struck the truck in front of it, Aalen city police said at the time.
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 passenger in the third truck was airlifted to University Hospital Wuerzberg. That soldier has been transferred to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for further treatment and is recovering well, 21st Theater Sustainment Command spokesman Maj. Vonnie Wright said Tuesday.
The other three injured soldiers were released from the Landstuhl hospital over the weekend, Wright said.
The accident remains under investigation and damage assessments were not yet available, the command said.
The trucks were carrying large amounts of missiles and munitions, but the danger was limited because no detonators were attached, according to police.
The weapons were transferred to other trucks and weren’t damaged, the Army said.