Accident on the Bundesautobahn 5 (original) (raw)

The accident on the Bundesautobahn 5 occurred on 14 July 2003 close to Karlsruhe, Germany, when a young mother lost control of her car on Bundesautobahn 5 and collided with a tree. The 21-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter died at the scene. The accident and the following judicial proceeding received nationwide attention after eyewitnesses stated that another vehicle had closed the gap to her from behind with excessive speed and caused the accident. The case was known in the media as Autobahnraser-Fall ("motorway speeder case") and sparked a debate about setting a general speed limit on German motorways, which are generally without a legally mandated limit.