Ghost driver accident on the A1: seriously injured in Mondsee!

Ghost driver accident on the A1: seriously injured in Mondsee!

In the early morning of Friday, July 4, 2025, around 04:30 a.m. on the A1 West Autobahn between Mondsee and Thalgau there was a serious traffic accident in which a ghost driver was involved. A car from the Lilienfeld district, directed by a 51-year-old woman, drove wrongly onto the highway and collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle from Mondsee who was traveling towards Salzburg. The accident occurred in the construction site area, where no breakdown strips were available, which made it difficult to get the emergency vehicles.

The alarm of the fire brigades took place at 04:33 am with the operational keyword "Personal rescue traffic accident car - frontal collision with ghost driver". The fire brigades Mondsee, Guggenberg, Thalgau and Unterdorf immediately made their way to the scene of the accident. The emergency services were on site within a few minutes to take measures. Fortunately, no people were trapped in the vehicles, so that no hydraulic tools had to be used.

use of the rescue workers

The fire brigade ensured fire protection and cleaned the road. Firefighters of the Red Cross Mondsee and emergency doctors from Vöcklabruck and Mondsee were also supportive. Two emergency vehicles were used to supply the injured. The driver from Lilienfeld suffered serious injuries and was flown to the Salzburg State Hospital with an emergency medical helicopter C14. Your condition was stabilized by two emergency doctors before transporting. The other driver, a 58-year-old man from the Vöcklabruck district, was also injured, but he suffered injuries of an indefinite degree.

The highway was closed until 6:30 a.m. during the injured supply and the subsequent clean -up work. The Upper Austria police are still investigating, although the current time is unclear whether the ghost trip or a mistake by one of the vehicle drivers was the cause of the accident. The fire brigade was deployed with a total of 97 emergency services and 11 vehicles, which underlines the necessity of the fast and coordinated action of the emergency services.

background to the problem of ghost trips

ghost driver accidents are a serious problem in road traffic. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung there were around 83 accidents in Germany in 2021 that were caused by false drivers. The main causes are often dementia or confusion, especially for older drivers, of which around 40% are over 75 years old. In particular, technical solutions for the recognition of false trips are considered important to increase safety on motorways.

Overall, the incident on the A1 once again shows the dangers that arise from false trips, and the need to take preventive measures and to raise awareness of the risks in road traffic. The police investigation will continue in the coming days to clarify the exact cause of the accident.