Blue lights, countless ambulances, police, injured people are treated by paramedics, a car tire is on the road. A completely demolished black Mercedes SUV hangs on one of the heavy metal bollards that are supposed to protect the Düsseldorf Christmas market from amok drives. The faces of passers-by staring in shock as they strolled along Düsseldorf’s Königsallee around 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening around 6 p.m. or were on their way to the Christmas market.
According to fire department spokesman Simon Janssen, there are at least six injured. The older driver and his passenger were slightly injured, while two pedestrians were “severely injured” and possibly in mortal danger. By 7:00 p.m., all of the injured had been taken away, and some had received emergency medical care just before the start of the Christmas market. According to a police spokesman, there is no evidence of a rampage or the like. Such suspicions had been made among the passers-by. So far, the police are assuming it was an accident. The driver is in shock.
According to media reports, he is said to be 84 years old. The police suspect that the light of a traffic light could have irritated him. The ceremonial switching on of the so-called light dome above the Kö-Graben by Mayor Stephan Keller (CDU) planned for the evening was canceled.
In any case, one thing is clear: the car must have been traveling at extremely high speed in the 30 km/h zone. A few hundred meters before he came to a stop at the bollard, he rammed a parked car. A little further on, he crashed into several e-scooters parked on the side of the road.
The driver of a small car from Essen, who was visiting Düsseldorf and was about to drive away, says: “Suddenly this car sped past me and crashed directly into these e-scooters.” But the journey continued from there. Traffic lights were bypassed – it is unclear whether the black Mercedes or cars that wanted to get to safety in front of the car.
A group of young French people who are currently doing an internship in Düsseldorf were nearby when they heard a big bang. Now they are standing on the side of the road with other Christmas visitors, waiting for someone to explain to them what exactly happened here. This is currently unclear.
