Boulder crushes car on Romania's DN7 in Sibiu; 71-year-old driver killed, traffic blocked
A boulder detached from a slope near Lazaret, Sibiu county, crushed a moving car on national road 7 Tuesday morning. One occupant died and the other escaped uninjured; the highway remains closed for investigation and debris clearance.
The incident
Shortly before dawn on 21 July 2026, a large boulder broke loose from the slope above the Valea Oltului and struck a car travelling on DN7 between Boița and Lazaret, in Sibiu county. The vehicle, carrying two occupants, was crushed by the impact. The rockfall occurred at the exit of Lazaret, according to police.
Rescue operation
Multiple emergency units were dispatched immediately. The response included an extrication vehicle, a fire engine, a SMURD mobile intensive care crew with a doctor, a county ambulance, and the SMURD helicopter. One of the two people in the car managed to self-evacuate before rescuers arrived. The other, an older man estimated at around 65 years, remained trapped and unconscious in the heavily damaged wreckage.
The man was extracted from the car and resuscitation procedures are being applied at this moment.
## Victim Extrication teams freed the trapped occupant, and medics began advanced life support on the scene. Despite prolonged resuscitation efforts, the man, later confirmed to be 71 years old, showed no response. The attending physician pronounced him dead at the site.
Despite the efforts of the medical teams on site, the 71-year-old man did not respond to resuscitation attempts, and the doctor was forced to declare the man's death.
Traffic disruption
National road 7, the main artery through the Olt Valley, was closed in both directions while emergency services worked and heavy debris was cleared from the carriageway. The Infotrafic centre of the Romanian General Police Inspectorate confirmed that traffic was halted for the entire duration of the rescue and vehicle recovery operation. No alternative detour was immediately available in the narrow gorge section.
## Investigation Police in Sibiu have opened an inquiry to establish the full circumstances of the rockfall. Officers are examining the stability of the slope and whether any prior warning signs were present. No further injuries were reported, and the second occupant was evaluated at the scene but did not require hospitalisation.
