Emergency vehicles attend to the scene of a crash along route B212 in Brake, Germany, Aug. 3, 2023. Two elderly people were seriously injured in a vehicle crash involving a van with six U.S. service members, police said. (Johanniter Ambulance Service)
Updated Aug. 4, 2023, at 12:43 Central European Time
BRAKE, Germany — Nine people were injured Thursday morning when a U.S. soldier lost control of his van on the rain-soaked roadway and veered into oncoming traffic, resulting in a head-on collision with another vehicle, Delmenhorst police said in a statement.
Six service members between the ages of 21 and 34 were traveling north on route B212 in Brake, 31 miles northwest of Bremen, around 7:30 a.m., when the 24-year-old driver crashed into a Dacia car driven by an 83-year-old man, police said Thursday afternoon.
Both vehicles came to a standstill on the shoulder and cycle path. Firefighters rescued the driver and an 82-year old female passenger who were trapped inside the car and had suffered serious injuries. They were airlifted to hospitals by rescue helicopters, police said.
An 85-year-old woman suffered minor injuries and was transported to a hospital by ambulance.
Four of the six injured soldiers were released from the hospital the same day, a U.S. Army Europe and Africa spokesman said Friday. Two others were kept overnight for observation and released Friday. The soldiers are assigned to the 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, which falls under the higher headquarters of the Kaiserslautern-based 21st Theater Sustainment Command.
A total of 75 rescue workers and responders assisted with the emergency. The road was closed for several hours, police said.
The collision caused about 20,000 euros in total vehicle damage, police said.
The accident comes two days after an Army officer was killed in Bavaria after a semitruck collided with the Stryker she was riding inside, marking the third U.S. active-duty military death on German roads this year.
The Vilseck-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment, whose soldiers were involved in two tactical vehicle accidents in the past week, conducted a unitwide safety stand down Wednesday.
Soldiers focused on vehicle safety while on the job and off duty. Subordinate units continue to arrange their own safety events, Army officials said.
“Leaders at all levels are engaged on issues of safety all the time and certainly in the face of these incidents,” USAREUR-AF spokesman Col. Martin O’Donnell said Friday.
