Eleven vehicles, including a police patrol car, crash in Warsaw morning rush

A morning pile-up near the bridge

Police in Warsaw reported a multi-vehicle crash on the morning of 15 October on the approach to the Siekierkowski Bridge. The emergency call reached officers at 5:50, according to police spokeswoman Monika Kaczyńska, who told Polsat News that six separate traffic incidents involved 11 vehicles in total, among them a police patrol car. Super Express, citing the fire service, counted only two separate events and placed the start around 6 a.m., during the morning commute. Both accounts agree on the total of 11 vehicles but split the collisions very differently.

Damage and traffic disruption

The police patrol car was damaged after its crew had arrived at one of the collisions. TVP Info reported that the viaduct linking Aleja Witosa and ulica Czerniakowska, toward the city centre, was closed to traffic completely. Super Express said Witosa Street toward the Śródmieście district was also blocked. Police directed vehicles onto alternative routes, and RMF FM warned drivers coming from the direction of Dolinka Służewiecka to expect serious delays during the morning peak. Emergency services remained on site to secure the scene and clear the wreckage, the broadcaster reported.

No injuries and sober drivers

No one was injured, police said. Kaczyńska told Super Express that an ambulance attended the scene but did not take anyone to hospital. All drivers were sober and held the necessary licences, according to the police. None of the reports gives a time for reopening the viaduct or for clearing the road.

Cause and police advice

Preliminary findings suggested that difficult weather conditions were the likely cause. Super Express, citing preliminary findings from the services, said the most probable cause was a rear-end collision, in which one vehicle runs into the car ahead. Police stressed the role of the road surface in a statement from their traffic unit:

Wet road surface, leaves on the carriageway and limited grip can make even a well-known road dangerous, especially on bends and viaducts.

Police urged drivers to adjust their speed to conditions rather than to the posted limit, to leave a much larger gap to the car ahead, and to avoid sudden braking or steering on slippery roads. They also warned that braking distances on wet tarmac can stretch several times over, and that viaducts and shaded stretches stay cooler and dry more slowly.

What the reports agree and disagree on

The reports agree on the basic facts: a morning pile-up, 11 vehicles, a damaged patrol car and no injuries. They disagree on the number of separate collisions, with six in the police account against two in the fire service version relayed by Super Express. RMF FM placed the collisions on ulica Czerniakowska near the Siekierkowski Bridge, while TVP Info and Super Express described the closure on the Witosa and Czerniakowska axis. The differences concern how the crashes were counted and named, not whether they happened.