A Belgian woman and her four-year-old child were hit by a car in Berlin. Their injuries were so severe that they later died in hospital, the capital's police reported.
The 41-year-old woman was pushing her four-year-old child in a pram in Mitte, one of Berlin's most central and busiest boroughs, when an elderly driver drove into them at high speed on Saturday morning, the German capital's police and fire brigade reported.
"According to eyewitnesses, an 83-year-old driver was travelling at excessive speed along Leipziger Straße towards Potsdamer Platz at around 10:00," the police noted in a statement.
As he approached the vehicles waiting in at a red light, he reportedly used the cycle lane on the right-hand side of the road "in contravention of traffic regulations" to drive past the traffic jam. In the process, he drove head-on into the woman and her child, who were crossing, and hit another car that in turn hit another vehicle, both waiting at the red light.
"Emergency services attended to the injured at the scene of the accident," the police noted. The two victims, mother and son, first had to be resuscitated on the spot, but were then taken to the hospital.
"The mother and her son, both tourists from Belgium, succumbed to their serious injuries in hospital," the police said. The child still underwent emergency surgery, but also eventually died.
The fire brigade noted on social media that 16 people were cared for by emergency services and a total of seven people were transported to hospital. "We were on site with 48 personnel," the fire brigade noted.
Two other Belgians – the woman's partner and sister – were hospitalised with shock. The four had travelled to Berlin together to visit the city as tourists. The 83-year-old was also slightly injured and taken to hospital for outpatient treatment.
An alcohol check revealed that he had not been drinking. However, his driving licence was revoked and his car was confiscated. Leipziger Straße was closed in both directions for five hours for the duration of the traffic accident investigation, the police noted. "Investigations into the exact cause of the accident are ongoing."
Because the accident took place in such a busy area, many passers-by also witnessed the horrendous accident. "Rescue workers and counsellors attended to them at the scene of the accident."
