Seven injured, lots of glass splinters and unsavory curiosity

The visit to the restaurant ended with a shock for the guests of an Asian restaurant: on Saturday afternoon, a car crashed into the large glass front of the popular “Taifun” restaurant near Leonding. Several people were injured by the glass splinters, the 34-year-old accident driver, who may have lost control of his vehicle after an unsuccessful overtaking manoeuvre, had to be taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Dramatic moments happened near the so-called Meixner crossing on Welser Straße: “The restaurant was full. After the accident, the tables were mixed up, glass splinters everywhere, there was still a traffic sign on the car. Some guests ate with relish, they were not aware of the danger,” says head of operations Michael Klose from the Hart fire brigade.

After the initial chaos, the emergency services quickly got an overview and evacuated the restaurant within minutes, especially since it was not immediately clear whether the glass facade would collapse completely and whether various operating materials had leaked. The 34-year-old driver also had to be rescued quickly. He was responsive, but injured so badly that he couldn’t get out of the car himself. In consultation with the emergency doctor, a “crash rescue” was carried out, the aim being to free the patient from the vehicle as quickly as possible.

It was only later that the picture of the course of the accident cleared up. According to the police, the 34-year-old Egyptian from Linz drove on Welser Straße (B139) from Pasching to Linz. At the same time, a 21-year-old from the Gmunden district was also driving in the same direction. A 20-year-old woman from Linz was in her car. The 34-year-old overtook at the intersection and touched the car. The 34-year-old’s car then left the road on the right, ran over several traffic control systems and broke through the window front of the Asian restaurant, where it came to a standstill in the middle of the display. At least six restaurant guests were injured by flying glass splinters or other objects.

The accident triggered a major alarm. Annoying for the emergency services: many onlookers on the front line, who also filmed what was happening. Operations manager Klose appealed to reason: “We need space to work, and filming the accident is also incomprehensible to me.” (mahoo)