Drunk driver hits school container in Rottenburg, four hurt
A 47-year-old driver with more than two per mille of alcohol crashed into a primary school building in Rottenburg, injuring himself and three ten-year-old pupils.
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A car veered off the road and struck a school container in Rottenburg, southern Germany, on Tuesday morning, injuring the driver and three children, regional police said.
The Polish driver, aged forty-seven, left Weilerstrasse in his BMW, hit the container hard and came to a stop after a few metres, police in Reutlingen said. A preliminary breath test found he had more than two per mille of alcohol in his system.
The container serves as a teaching building for the Grund- und Realschule im Kreuzerfeld, a primary and secondary school. Three ten-year-old pupils who were inside the classroom container at the time of the crash were hurt by flying debris, police said. Paramedics, who arrived at the scene in large numbers, treated the children. Two of them were taken to hospital by ambulance, while a third was handed over to their parents at the scene.
A further ten-year-old and six nine-year-olds who were also in the container at the time did not need medical treatment, police said. Officers initially gave a different casualty count in a first statement before issuing a corrected version confirming that three children in total were hurt.
The driver, who was alone in his car, was seriously hurt and was also taken to hospital by ambulance, police said. A rescue helicopter that had been requested for him in the immediate aftermath of the crash was not, in the end, used to transport him. His driving licence was seized at the scene and a blood sample was taken from him.
Rottenburg mayor Stephan Neher said some children had been playing outside the container, in the school garden, when the car struck. Police stressed that the crash was an accident and not a deliberate act. Traffic investigators are still working to establish exactly how the driver left the road.
Emergency chaplains looked after other pupils at the school who were shaken by witnessing the crash, broadcaster SWR reported. Some children missed their regular bus home because of the disruption to the school day, so fire crews instead drove them home in an emergency vehicle.
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What we know
- 2+ outlets · Bundespolizei Presse, SWR Aktuell A car left the road and hit a school container in Rottenburg on Tuesday morning.
- 1 outlet · Stern The driver, a 47-year-old man, had more than two per mille of alcohol in his blood, a preliminary test showed.
- 1 outlet · Bundespolizei Presse Three ten-year-old children inside the container were hurt by flying debris and treated by paramedics.
- 2+ outlets · Bundespolizei Presse, SWR Aktuell The driver was seriously injured and taken to hospital by ambulance.
- 1 outlet · Bundespolizei Presse Police say the crash was accidental and traffic investigators are still examining how it happened.
How each fact is established: Verified checked by an ECTV editorOfficial stated by an official body2+ outlets reported independently by two or more news organisations1 outlet reported by a single news organisation so farUnconfirmed claimed or reportedHow we label facts
Figure history
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Why it matters for Europe
The crash happened during school hours, with dozens of young children in and around the container at the time, and could have caused far more serious harm had the vehicle struck at a different angle or moment. Drink-driving crashes near schools raise questions for local authorities about protecting pupils taught in temporary containers, a common fixture at German schools facing classroom shortages. Emergency chaplains were called in to support pupils who witnessed the crash, a sign of how disruptive the incident was for the wider school community, not only for those who were physically hurt.
Sources
Reported by 3 reports from 3 independent outlets in 1 countries.
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Confidence and impact scores, the full situation report and the event timeline.
Questions and answers
- How many people were hurt in the Rottenburg school crash?
- Four people were injured: the driver and three ten-year-old children, police said.
- Was the driver drunk?
- A preliminary breath test found the 47-year-old driver had more than two per mille of alcohol in his system, police said.
- Were the injuries serious?
- The driver was seriously injured. The three children suffered slight injuries from flying debris, police said.
This article was written with AI assistance from 3 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.