Car crashes into Trier pedestrian zone: five dead, including baby | Abroad

The youngest victim is a 9-month-old baby. Furthermore, a 25-year-old woman, a 45-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman died. “It is a terrible day,” said Minister Roger Lewentz of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate at a press conference.

The driver, a 51-year-old man from the vicinity of the city, has been arrested. He has been questioned. Mayor Wolfram Leibe ‘cannot understand how someone came up with the idea’.

Homeless

The authorities have as yet no concrete indications that the man acted on a political, religious or terrorist basis. What did go through his mind is still ‘completely unknown’, according to the press conference. He deliberately collided with people, but may have a psychiatric disorder. The man was recently examined by a doctor.

According to German media, the man had no permanent residence. He’s been living in his car lately. 1.4 percent alcohol was found in his blood.

The authorities will later decide whether to place the man in detention or transfer the man to a psychiatric facility.

The Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister says the route taken by the man in his car indicated the act was deliberate. “It was zigzagged to cause as much suffering to pedestrians as possible,” said Roger Lewentz.

Massacre

The incident has shocked Trier. Eyewitnesses tell local media they saw people flying through the air after the collision.

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The driver was driving a gray Range Rover, Bild reports. The city center of Trier is closed and people were still discouraged from going there. “Taking care of the injured has the highest priority,” Mayor Leibe responded immediately after the incident.

Trier

Trier is located in the southwest of Germany, near the border with Luxembourg. The authorities ask for solidarity from the residents of the city and let them know that they have ordered mourning flags.

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