Drama after climate blockade – cyclist is brain dead Ukraine finds German weapons “super cool”

Tragic accident in Berlin: A cyclist fell under a cement mixer in the German capital on Monday. Now the doctors found the 44-year-old brain dead, as the Berlin police said. Earlier, the police reported that she had died. They later corrected this post.

The incident has been the subject of much discussion in recent days. Because a special rescue vehicle from the rescue services was stuck in traffic. This was presumably caused by a roadblock by climate activists.

Up to 9 minutes lost in traffic

Emergency services arrived late at the scene of the accident, said fire service spokesman Rolf Erbe. The colleagues are said to have been stuck in traffic for a “quite relevant time” with a so-called rescue vehicle with special technology used to lift heavy loads. Because the vehicle was not available, it was necessary to improvise at the scene of the accident.

The extent to which the absence of the special vehicle could have led to delays or more serious injuries must be determined afterwards, according to the fire service spokesman. According to the daily mirror, the rescuers lost seven to nine minutes because of the traffic jam.

The woman was freed with the technique of the regular emergency vehicles and then taken to hospital. Since then, until the sad certainty of Thursday, the German media have reported daily about the health of the victims.

Police are investigating two 63- and 59-year-old climate activists for not providing assistance or for the disability of those who provide assistance. You risk a prison sentence of up to a year or a fine, writes t-online.

The driver of the concrete mixer was also injured in the accident in Berlin. A man attacked him with a knife and then fled the scene of the accident. Police arrested a 48-year-old suspect on Wednesday.

The climate activists of the ‘Last Generation’ group are behind the protests. They had blocked traffic in several places in Berlin on Monday morning and over the past few weeks. They stuck to the ground, reminiscent of the actions of Renovate Switzerland. The group is calling for renovation of Swiss buildings and has blocked traffic in several Swiss cities in recent days.

Incident leads to political discussions

After the incident in Berlin, there was loud criticism of the protest form. “What has been disguised as a climate protest for weeks is a very dangerous game with innocent civilians,” said Berlin CDU chairman Kai Wegner.

Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) said after the incident: “In principle, there is no justification for endangering human life”. It must now become clear to what extent the activists are to blame for the fact that the victim of the accident could not be helped more quickly.

One of them was “stunned,” a spokesman for the “Last Generation” movement said on Deutschlandfunk shortly after the accident. “We want to protect the lives of all people in all our actions.” But it happens time and again that rescue vehicles get stuck in traffic and therefore do not arrive on time.

Another spokeswoman for the “Last Generation” had defended the form of protest after the accident: a rescue lane was always free during the actions, only in traffic jams there was none. It was never meant to happen to anyone. Due to the urgency of the climate crisis, the group continues to find the form of protest appropriate. Despite the accident, they continued their roadblocks in Berlin, Munich and Freiburg on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the “Last Generation” published a brief statement on Twitter. The activists wrote that they were deeply affected.

In addition to much criticism of the form of protest, there were also observers who tried to put the incident in a different light. Some complain that much more money is spent on motorways in Berlin than on bicycle paths.

A Twitter user who claims to be a rescuer writes that rescuers are stuck in traffic every day. The reason for this in most cases is not climate activists, but illegal parking, construction sites, lack of rescue routes and generally too many cars in too little space.

(cm)