Two people in danger of life after accident on E17, van drives into the tail of a traffic jam and causes seven more injuries

The driver of a truck with a Polish license plate had clearly not noticed the daily traffic jam in the direction of Antwerp on the E17 in time. He drove straight into a truck that was slowing down in front of him in the right lane at the tail end of the traffic jam. There was a serious collision. The cabin of the Polish truck was pressed against the rear of a truck from a company from Ardooie in West Flanders.

Life-threatening injuries

The impact also catapulted that truck forward into a small passenger car in front of it. That passenger car in turn ended up under a truck in front of him.

The balance was tough. Both the driver and his passenger were trapped in the Polish truck. They had to be freed by the fire brigade and were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Belgian truck was also slightly injured and the driver of the passenger car was slightly injured.

The E17 was completely closed at the Haasdonk exit. Traffic was diverted via secondary roads to get back on the E17 in Kruibeke. Because the public prosecutor’s office may still have to arrive on site due to the danger to life, the vehicles could not yet be towed.

Around 9:45 p.m., a Ukrainian van crashed into a truck at the tail end of that traffic jam. The truck in turn crashed into a Dutch passenger car in front of it. The driver of the van, which was equipped to transport both passengers and equipment, was trapped behind the wheel. It took the fire brigade more than an hour to free him from his cabin. He was taken to hospital with serious injuries, but his injuries were not life-threatening.

The driver of the truck that was hit was slightly injured. He was treated at the scene and was later picked up by family members. A Dutch couple with three small children were in the passenger car that was hit. All four were also injured and were all taken to hospital for treatment.

Due to the accident, the E17 was also completely closed in Sint-Niklaas. Around 11 p.m. the towing of the vehicles could begin and the road could be cleared and traffic could flow again, before having to leave the highway in Haasdonk again a few kilometers further. The road was closed there until after midnight after the serious crash earlier in the evening.