Children among 9 hurt in Beerze traffic crash; Slick roads warning extended into Saturday
Nine people were injured in two separate, simultaneous traffic collisions on the N36 in Beerze on Friday afternoon. Three children were among those injured, police said on social media.
All nine were transported from the scene to an area hospital. Two adults were seriously injured, according to RTV Oost. The three children suffered minor injuries.
The incidents were first reported to authorities at about 3:30 p.m., records show. A van and a passenger car drove into each other head-on, and two other cars also crashed. Paramedics, firefighters, and police were quickly dispatched to the scene.
A forensic investigation was still being conducted over two hours later. “The N36 will remain closed in both directions between Westerhaar and Mariënberg until around 8 p.m.,” said infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat. Traffic was rerouted to the U44/U45.
The Netherlands started the day under a Code Orange weather warning for slippery roads. Although that warning was downgraded to the less serious Code Yellow warning, the duration was expected to continue at least until midday on Saturday in much of the country.
The Dutch meteorological institute KNMI was concerned about potentially “treacherous” slick conditions at the local level. Dense fog could even occur in some areas on Friday night or early Saturday morning.
“It will remain treacherously slippery locally until Saturday afternoon due to the freezing of wet sections of road. In the east it can also become slippery locally due to light snowfall,” the KNMI stated.
Several of the country’s 25 security regions asked people to be more cautious than normal. They said that they have had to send ambulances to many reports of falls, bicycle accidents, and other incidents due to slippery sidewalks, bike paths and roads. With ambulances being sent back and forth, several hospital emergency rooms were also crowded.
