Car crashes into first floor after hitting trampoline
In a bizarre accident, the vehicle left the road in the town of Bohmte, western Germany, on Saturday evening before colliding with another vehicle and tearing through a hedge.
The car, said to be a Volvo SUV, hit a trampoline and embedded itself in the roof of a barn in a low-lying garden, Deutsche Welle, the German broadcaster, said.
A 43-year-old female passenger and a seven-year-old boy, who had been playing on the trampoline at the time, were seriously injured. The boy was said to be in a critical condition in hospital.
Pictures from the scene showed scattered debris and a twisted but intact trampoline.
The car appears to have already been airborne when it hit the trampoline, due to the difference in height between the road and the lower-lying garden.
It is understood it could not have bounced off the trampoline due to its weight. Volvo SUVs vary by model, but can weight between 1,600kg and 3,400kg (1.6 to 3.4 tons).
'There was a massive clatter and we just thought: 'Help! What has happened?'' a resident of Bohmte told Deutsche Welle. 'Then we ran outside and saw the car in the roof.'
Another resident, Daniela Viss, told TV7 News: 'I heard this massive crash and thought: 'Holy cow, what just happened?' We rushed outside and saw the car stuck in the roof. The mother was just screaming. My boyfriend called the ambulance and police right away.'
Olga Folik, a third resident, told German newspaper Focus: 'I went over to the neighbour's house; an ambulance was already there. I only saw the fence and the garden destroyed. And the car stuck in the barn on the second floor. I just thought, how can something like that happen?'
She suggested that all the children involved in the car accident know each other and have previously played together.
The car driver is said to be a 42-year-old man who was carrying three boys – aged 11, 12 and 13 – in the back seats. The driver and all three boys sustained only light injuries.
Several dozen emergency service workers were sent to the crash scene, including 12 ambulance crews and two helicopters, Deutsche Welle reported. 'This is clearly an extraordinary deployment,' a fire bridgade spokesman said.
It remains unclear what exactly caused the accident, but investigators ruled out drink-drinking after taking blood samples from the driver.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
15 minutes ago
- The Independent
Horst Mahler, a German Holocaust denier who was once a far-left militant, dies at 89
Horst Mahler, a founding member of the left-wing Red Army Faction militant group who later became a right-wing extremist and accumulated a series of convictions, including for Holocaust denial, has died, a lawyer who represented him said Monday. He was 89. Mahler died on Sunday at a hospital in Berlin, Jan Dollwetzel, who represented Mahler at a trial in 2023, told German news agency dpa. Mahler, born on Jan. 23, 1936, became a lawyer and in 1969 defended militants Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin in a trial. Shortly afterward, he went on to found the Red Army Faction with them. The group, which emerged from German student protests against the Vietnam War, killed 34 people and injured hundreds of others in a violent campaign against what members considered U.S. imperialism and capitalist oppression of workers. It declared itself disbanded in 1998. In 1970, Mahler was arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison over various bank robberies with a far-left motivation. He distanced himself from his extremist past while in custody and was released after 10 years. In 1987, he was readmitted to practice as a lawyer with the help of his then-defense attorney, Gerhard Schröder, who would later become German chancellor. In the 1990s, Mahler switched to the opposite political extreme, becoming a member of the far-right National Democratic Party for a few years. He represented the party in 2001 in its case against an unsuccessful attempt by authorities to ban it. Mahler racked up several convictions for denying the Holocaust, which earned him sentences totaling 10 years, and while in prison wrote a 200-page antisemitic screed that was put on the internet by unknown culprits. In 2017, he fled to Hungary after being ordered to return to prison following a break from serving his sentence due to serious illness. Mahler said after he was arrested that he had requested asylum, but his claim was not confirmed by authorities. He was extradited to Germany and returned to prison. Mahler was released in October 2020 and lived in Kleinmachnow, just outside Berlin. Another trial against him was shelved in April 2023 for health reasons and never resumed.
Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
EU says Temu in breach of rules to prevent sale of illegal products
BRUSSELS, July 28 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Monday said Chinese online marketplace Temu was breaking EU rules by not doing enough to prevent the sale of illegal products through its platform. The EU's findings could ultimately lead to a fine of up to 6% of Temu's annual global turnover, the Commission said. "Evidence showed that there is a high risk for consumers in the EU to encounter illegal products on the platform," it said in a statement about Temu. "Specifically, the analysis of a mystery shopping exercise found that consumers shopping on Temu are very likely to find non-compliant products among the offer, such as baby toys and small electronics." The Commission said Temu's risk assessment was inadequate as it was based on general industry information, not on the specifics of its platform. It said that if the Commission's preliminary findings were ultimately confirmed, Temu would be found in breach of the Digital Services Act. "Such a decision could entail fines of up to 6% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the provider and order the provider to take measures to address the breach," it said. Temu can respond to the EU's findings in the coming weeks, an EU spokesperson said, without giving an exact deadline. A Temu spokesperson said the company would continue to "cooperate fully" with the Commission. The findings relate only to one aspect of a broader ongoing EU investigation into Temu, the Commission said. Temu is also suspected of breaching EU rules relating to the use of addictive design features, the transparency of its recommendation systems and its access to data for researchers.
Telegraph
16 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Female Army musician sacked for groping six soldiers
A 'predatory' female musician in the Coldstream Guards groped and propositioned six colleagues, a court martial heard. Lance Corporal Caitlyn Hawkins, 26, was dismissed from the British Army after she pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of four colleagues and committing disgraceful conduct of an indecent kind against two others. The clarinettist was handed an 18-month suspended sentence after a military court heard that she squeezed the genitals of a male colleague while 'staggering' back from a pub in London. Colonel Jim Carmichael, prosecuting, told Bulford Military Court that in May 2023, LCpl Hawkins left a pub in London 'heavily intoxicated' with three male colleagues. The court martial heard she walked up to one of her colleagues and moved her face close to his in an attempt to kiss him. Some time afterwards, LCpl Hawkins 'softly squeezed' his genitals for around two seconds. Col Carmichael said the male soldier was 'completely shocked' and said that for the rest of the journey to camp, she repeatedly put her hands on his crotch and buttocks. On that same walk home, she grabbed another one of the soldier's genitals without his consent for around one to two seconds before he pushed her hand away. She also touched the buttocks of another one of her male colleagues, who described her behaviour as 'inappropriate'. 'That's enough now' Another incident, which took place in June 2024, involved two female colleagues. One described that when she arrived at the pub, LCpl Hawkins was 'already quite drunk'. The court martial heard that after giving the woman a hug in greeting, LCpl Hawkins moved her hand onto the soldier's bottom, and then proceeded to 'stroke her back again and kissed her on the side of the neck'. She asked her colleague, 'Would your boyfriend mind if I kissed you right now?' In response, her victim said: 'That's enough now', and LCpl Hawkins left to go to the toilet. Later that night, at a different pub, LCpl Hawkins again started to touch the same colleague, 'squeezed her bottom' and cupped her vagina over her clothing. On that same night, LCpl Hawkins tried to touch the breasts of another female colleague before undoing her bra over her clothing. She was told to stop and moved away. Later on, in the toilet at the pub, LCpl Hawkins told the colleague, 'it's really annoying that you are straight and this attractive - do you not want to try it?' Col Carmichael told the court martial that LCpl Hawkins then put her hands on the woman's breasts and tried to kiss her. The court martial heard of a sixth victim, who said that between June and October of 2023, LCpl Hawkins had assaulted her on four occasions while The victim said on one occasion, LCpl Hawkins stood beside the woman and put her hand down her trousers, making 'skin to skin' contact. 'Willingness to treat them disgracefully' Chris Cannon, mitigating, told the court that LCpl Hawkins had no previous convictions and had been described as a 'model soldier' in character references. LCpl Hawkins apologised and said she 'deeply regrets' her actions. She pleaded guilty to seven charges of sexual assault and two charges of disgraceful conduct of an indecent kind at an earlier hearing. She was handed an 18-month suspended sentence and dismissed from the Army. LCpl Hawkins must also carry out 240 hours of unpaid work and 35 rehabilitation activity days. Judge Atwill said many of LCpl Hawkins's victims 'felt disempowered by your predatory behaviour' and were upset by her 'willingness to treat them disgracefully'.
