Fatal truck collision shuts Athens-Lamia motorway for over 10 hours, one dead

Collision sequence

At around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday 1 August, at the 123rd kilometre of the Athens–Lamia motorway (PATHE), shortly after the Martinou bridge in Fthiotida, an articulated lorry travelling in the Athens‑bound lane suddenly lost control, broke through the concrete central reservation and veered into oncoming traffic. A second truck, moving lawfully in its own lane, swerved sharply to avoid a head‑on impact, overturned and ended up off the carriageway. The first lorry mounted the median divider and immediately caught fire, burning out completely. The driver of the overturned truck died at the scene; his passenger sustained minor injuries. The driver of the flaming truck managed to escape the cab before it was fully engulfed and suffered no injuries. Thick black smoke spread across both carriageways, reducing visibility and forcing an immediate total closure of the motorway.

Casualties and conflicting nationality reports

One person was killed and two others were lightly hurt, all foreign nationals engaged in freight transport. Early reports from NewsIT, citing police, stated that the deceased driver was of Bulgarian origin. A later in.gr account, however, described the driver of the burnt‑out lorry as Bulgarian and said the two occupants of the overturned truck were Albanian. The authorities have not yet resolved the discrepancy. No names have been made public.

Emergency response

Sixteen firefighters with eight vehicles were dispatched, together with two PZL water‑bomber aircraft launched from Lamia airport. They extinguished the blaze and stopped it from spreading into the surrounding vegetation. Ambulances and police patrols cordoned off the scene while the wrecked vehicles were removed.

Traffic diversions and lengthy reopening

All traffic was halted in both directions immediately after the crash. Motorists heading towards Thessaloniki were diverted at the 115‑km mark near Kastro; those bound for Athens were sent off at the 125‑km point in the Martinou area, creating long queues on secondary roads. At 12:15 p.m. the right‑hand lane of the Thessaloniki‑bound carriageway was reopened, but the Athens‑bound side remained closed. Full restoration of both carriageways was finally achieved around 5:30 p.m., more than ten and a half hours after the collision. The motorway, which is the main axis linking Athens with Thessaloniki and the north of Greece, remained shut to all traffic for over five hours, with only a single lane reopened at midday.

Investigation

The exact reason the first driver lost control remains unknown. Traffic police are looking into possible mechanical failure or driver error, but no preliminary conclusions have been released.