Police say dense fog played role in crash injuring four youths near Heeswijk-Dinther
Four youths were injured overnight in a single-vehicle crash on the Steeg, a connecting road between Heeswijk-Dinther and Schijndel in Noord-Brabant, with early reports describing all four as seriously injured and later police information indicating two suffered serious injuries while two others were taken to the hospital for checks.
According to Omroep Brabant, the crash occurred around 2:15 a.m. when a car carrying four youths was traveling from Heeswijk-Dinther. In very dense fog, the vehicle left the roadway, came to a stop sideways against a tree on the left side of the road, and ended up on the shoulder. Police suspect the heavy fog played a role in the accident.
Two occupants—a 17-year-old from Uden and an 18-year-old from Veghel—were able to get out of the car on their own and were taken to a hospital as a precaution. The other two—a 17-year-old from Venlo and an 18-year-old from Sint-Oedenrode—were trapped in the heavily damaged vehicle and had to be freed by firefighters. One of the rescue operations took nearly an hour and a half. Before firefighters could reach the trapped victim, the car had to be winched free from the tree and placed back on its wheels.
Emergency services deployed five ambulances and two trauma helicopters, but the helicopters were unable to take off because of dense fog. A trauma team instead traveled to the scene by car.
The injured youths were transported to hospitals in Uden and Den Bosch, as well as to Radboudumc in Nijmegen.
The Steeg was closed to all traffic for several hours following the crash. A recovery company removed the vehicle, and firefighters cut down the tree the car struck because it was already largely uprooted.
