16-year-old critically injured in St. Margarethen an der Raab

The incident occurred in St. Margarethen an der Raab, a municipality in the district of Weiz in eastern Styria. The exact cause of the accident and the sequence of events are being investigated by the police. Details on the vehicles involved and any other possible injured persons were not initially available.

Regarding the 16-year-old's state of health, the emergency services only provided information in the late evening indicating a life-threatening injury. Nothing was initially known about the background — that is, where the teenager and any other parties involved knew each other from, or how he came to be hanging onto the vehicle.

Operation for the Red Cross and emergency doctor

The district of Weiz has repeatedly been the scene of serious traffic accidents in recent years. As the Red Cross emphasizes, operations involving young people are particularly stressful for the responders. In addition to initial medical care, psychological support for relatives and witnesses often has to be ensured as well.

Experts consider car surfing especially dangerous because the person holding on is practically unprotected and can be thrown from the bodywork with any steering movement, any braking maneuver, or even a small obstacle. According to experts, even low speeds can result in serious or fatal injuries.

Why car surfing is so dangerous

The case is likely to have criminal-law consequences for the driver if the suspicion is confirmed that they tolerated or even encouraged the vehicle being held onto by a person on the outside. Austrian case law regularly provides for investigations in such cases on suspicion of negligent bodily harm in road traffic.

After being treated at the scene of the accident, the 16-year-old was taken to a hospital in Graz. More detailed information on his condition and prognosis was not available at the time of reporting. The question of whether his life remained in danger was also initially open.