A 38-year-old man from the Vöcklabruck district got behind the wheel of his car while completely drunk on Sunday night. When he tried to pull out of his car at around 00:35 in the Vöcklamarkt municipal area, it was already clear that he was no longer fit to drive: he touched a parked car, but drove on without reporting the damage.
Driver escaped through tailgate
It didn’t take long before he lost control of the white station wagon completely in fog and at high speed: In a left-hand bend, the car drove straight ahead across a meadow, broke through the bank of the Vöckla, rammed a 30-centimetre-thick maple tree and landed in water that was a good 13 degrees cold. The car drifted a few metres downstream until the driver was able to free himself. According to the police, he probably climbed out of the wreckage through the tailgate literally at the last minute before it sank in the Vöckla, which was around two metres deep.
Soaked and hypothermic
After the accident, the 38-year-old dragged himself towards Frankenmarkt, completely soaked and suffering from severe hypothermia. At the height of the so-called Trenau Mill, he was cared for by rescue workers who had meanwhile been notified. The man could not tell the emergency services whether there had been other people in the car. The fire brigade, which had been dispatched to the scene of the accident with around 40 men, therefore started a search operation. The area was searched using two thermal imaging drones until the all-clear was given after 30 minutes.
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Image: facebook.com/FFWildingMuehlberg
Source: Nachrichten
