Tragic Accident at Geislingen’s Galgenkreuz During Father’s Day Festivities
On Thursday evening at around 6 PM, a serious accident occurred on a rural road near Geislingen’s Galgenkreuz. A group of 25 young adults was celebrating Father’s Day on a specially modified tractor trailer. According to police reports, at the time of the accident, “two individuals were standing on a metal structure attached to the front loading platform of the trailer.”
One of them, a 21-year-old man , fell from the structure, crashing to the roadway and being dragged several meters by the trailer. “Investigations are underway by an expert to determine if the critically injured individual was actually run over by the trailer, as previously reported,” stated Reutlingen Police spokesperson Gerhard Jaudas in response to inquiries from Schwäbische.de.
Das DRK kümmerte sich zusammen mit der Feuerwehr um die Betroffenen. (Foto: Ralf Biesinger)
Helicopter Flight to Hospital
“Upon arrival at the scene, the Red Cross was already assisting. The individual was free, not trapped, and responsive,” the incident commander, Fire Chief Marc Brobeil from Geislingen, told Schwäbische.de. Heiko Lebherz, the Red Cross’s operations manager from Zollernalb, added that the young man was airlifted to a hospital.
Further fire personnel attended to the remaining group members. An emergency support service collaborated with local Red Cross teams to provide psychosocial support for the group afterwards.
According to the police, officers found that the 20-year-old tractor driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. As a result, he was required to provide a blood sample, and his driver’s license was confiscated. Both the tractor and the trailer were secured and transported by a towing service.
A History of Tragic Accidents Involving Celebrants in Geislingen
This incident is not the first serious accident in Geislingen involving celebrants on a trailer. In February 2007, during a major Carnival parade in Geislingen, a Ferrari driver accelerated with two partygoers onboard. Unbeknownst to them, a third woman had climbed onto the back of the Ferrari. When the driver took off at high speed, the “passenger” fell off and crashed against the curb and a house wall, dying at the scene. The Ferrari driver accepted a fine issued by the district court.
Nine years later, during Carnival celebrations in Geislingen’s Binsdorf district, another fatal accident occurred. A 32-year-old woman leaned against the side of a trailer transformed into a carnival float. A part of that wall gave way, causing her to fall off and be run over by a wheel of the trailer, ultimately leading to her death on the scene.
In 2018, two defendants from a carnival group that had modified the trailer were acquitted of manslaughter charges by the district court in Balingen.
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