Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - A burning car transporter triggered a major operation on the busy Autobahn 3 near Frankfurt. The 31-year-old driver of the truck loaded with eight new cars was on the A3 in the direction of Cologne on Thursday morning, a police spokesman reported. He heard a loud noise at the Frankfurt-Süd junction and parked the van on the hard shoulder. At the time, a fire had already broken out in the tractor unit.
The driver still tried to unload the new car and save it. He managed to do that with two, but then a first responder who rushed over stopped him because the fire had spread further. The driver suffered smoke poisoning, and a 32-year-old helper was hit in the eye by flying parts. Both would not have had to go to the hospital, said the police spokesman. The extinguishing and salvage work went on for several hours, traffic on the A3 was slowed down properly. The police estimated the damage to property at a total of around 280,000 euros.
