Fatal Train Crash in Hamburg: Lorry Driver Released After Initial Arrest
Hamburg, Germany – A day after a high-speed ICE train collided with a truck at a railway crossing in Hamburg, the arrested truck driver has been released from custody.
"During today’s detention hearing of the accused truck driver, it became clear that the course of events leading to the accident requires further investigation," said a spokesperson for the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office. "The current evidence does not support an urgent suspicion of guilt." The 34-year-old Romanian is still under investigation for dangerous interference with railway traffic and negligent homicide.
The ICE train carrying 291 passengers collided with the truck on Tuesday as it was passing through a railway crossing in the Rönneburg district. The crash resulted in the death of a 55-year-old passenger, who succumbed to severe injuries despite intensive medical attention in the ambulance.
The deceased has been identified as Professor Thomas Großbölting, director of the Research Center for Contemporary History in Hamburg. "We mourn our director, Thomas Großbölting, who passed away unexpectedly on February 11," the research center announced. "Our thoughts are with his family."
Großbölting had been the director of the research center since 2020 and a professor of Modern History/Contemporary History at the University of Hamburg. He gained public recognition primarily through his studies on the investigation of sexualized violence in ecclesiastical contexts. Most recently, he was involved in the debate on renaming the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg as an expert on Bernhard Nocht’s history.
"Prof. Thomas Großbölting was a formative personality in the field of modern history," said Hauke Heekeren, President of the University of Hamburg. "His commitment to research and teaching was exemplary and inspired students and colleagues alike. In addition to his academic achievements, he will be remembered above all as a valued colleague and human being. In these difficult hours, our deepest sympathy goes out to his family, friends, and all who knew or worked with Thomas Großbölting."
Twenty-five other people were injured in the collision between the train and the semi-trailer truck. According to earlier statements by the Federal Police, six passengers from the ICE were treated for moderate injuries, while 19 suffered minor injuries. A crisis intervention team from the German Red Cross provided support to passengers and the truck driver. However, no injuries were reported for the driver.
According to media reports, the comedian Bernhard Hoëcker was among the passengers. On Wednesday, he posted on Instagram, "I am fine." He passed on the well wishes he had received to those who were less fortunate.
According to the Federal Police, the truck driver has no prior criminal record. A breathalyzer and drug test came back negative. He has a permanent residence and family ties abroad, the public prosecutor’s office said. Therefore, a request for an arrest warrant could not be justified on the grounds of flight risk.
At the time of the accident, the train was traveling at high speed and rammed the truck with such force that the windows shattered, primarily in the front cars, as an eyewitness told the German Press Agency. The railway crossing is secured with half-barriers and a traffic light system. Trains on lines with railway crossings are allowed to travel at a maximum speed of 160 km/h. A railway spokesperson stated that the ICE train traveling from Hamburg to Munich via Bremen had stopped in Hamburg-Harburg before the accident. Therefore, it was likely traveling significantly slower.
The accident site is located about three kilometers southwest of Harburg station, immediately after a junction of the tracks towards Bremen and Hanover. A narrow road leads over the railway crossing, which turns sharply over the tracks to a track construction company.
According to media reports, the semi-trailer truck was driving too slowly and did not manage to cross the tracks in time on the narrow curve. At the last second, the driver allegedly jumped out of his cab. The train hit the trailer of the semi-trailer truck. The heavy rails on the loading bed of the semi-trailer truck were scattered far and wide by the impact, which occurred not far from the state border with Lower Saxony.
The damaged train was towed away overnight with the help of two diesel locomotives. Deutsche Bahn was able to reopen one track on Wednesday morning. Before the second track can be reopened, around 100 meters of rails, sleepers, and overhead lines will have to be replaced. "We are working at full speed to reopen the second track for train traffic as quickly as possible, but we currently assume that the work will continue until at least the end of the weekend," said a railway spokesperson.
ICE trains to Bremen are being diverted via Jesteburg and Buchholz in der Nordheide. This will add about a quarter of an hour to the travel time. A line of the Metronom railway company to Bremen is also using the diversion.
