Cologne (dpa / lnw) - Several people were slightly injured in a major brawl on the 555 motorway between Cologne and Bonn on Saturday afternoon. According to a statement, the police initially had to completely block the motorway in the direction of Bonn in the area of the Godorf junction in order to prevent an escalated dispute between two drivers and other passengers on the hard shoulder and a lane. Seven people were slightly injured, an 18-year-old and a taxi driver were taken to a hospital because of internal incidents, a spokesman said on request on Sunday.
According to initial investigations, a 32-year-old drove his car into the 555 in front of a taxi at the Cologne-South motorway junction. The apparently upset taxi driver (59) then fought a daring duel with the 32-year-old, in which the drivers honked their horns, flashed their headlights and slowed each other down, endangering themselves and other road users. Both vehicles and another car driven by the taxi driver's son stopped on the hard shoulder at the Godorf junction.
The inmates then attacked each other, and according to the police, they classify the argument as a dispute between families. According to the police, ten or eleven people were involved. After the emergency services had the situation under control, one lane was reopened to traffic. Criminal charges were filed for bodily harm, coercion in road traffic, insults and threats. The parties to the dispute were escorted off the highway by the police.
