Multi-vehicle crash on A5 near Karlsruhe injures five and causes seven-kilometer traffic jam
A three-vehicle collision between Rastatt-Nord and Ettlingen forced a full northbound closure on Autobahn 5, leaving two people severely injured and prompting a helicopter deployment.
Multi-vehicle collision on Autobahn 5
A rear-end collision involving three vehicles occurred on the northbound carriageway of Autobahn 5 near Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg on 4 September 2026. The crash took place on the stretch between the Rastatt-Nord and Ettlingen junctions, in the vicinity of Bruchhausen. According to police reports, the sequence of events began when a 49-year-old motorist braked his vehicle while traveling along the route towards Karlsruhe. A 21-year-old female driver following immediately behind recognized the slowing car too late and struck its rear section. Moments later, a commercial truck driven by a 27-year-old man collided with the back of the woman's car. The forces of the impact caused the vehicles to skid across the roadway before coming to a standstill across both the left and middle lanes of the motorway.
Casualty details and emergency dispatch
Emergency services responded with ground personnel and a rescue helicopter to treat the individuals involved in the multi-vehicle crash. Initial dispatches from police indicated that six occupants, consisting of four adults and two children, were injured in the collision. Subsequent police updates specified that five people in total, ranging in age from 6 to 49 years, sustained injuries inside the passenger vehicles. Among those hurt, a 12-year-old child and a 20-year-old passenger suffered severe injuries and received urgent medical care. Both the 21-year-old female car driver and the 27-year-old truck driver escaped the collisions without physical injury. The landing of the rescue helicopter directly on the carriageway allowed medical responders to stabilize and transport the most seriously injured patients to nearby hospitals.
Northbound closure and traffic disruption
Police and transport authorities ordered a complete shutdown of all northbound lanes between Rastatt-Nord and Ettlingen to facilitate rescue operations and accident documentation. The full blockage halted all traffic heading towards Karlsruhe, leaving hundreds of motorists stranded along the motorway. By midday, the resulting tailback reached a total length of approximately seven kilometers extending southward from the collision site near Bruchhausen. Emergency crews worked across the obstructed middle and left lanes to inspect the structural damage to the three vehicles, document skid marks, and secure the scene for forensic investigation.
- Three vehicles collide on the northbound A5 between Rastatt-Nord and Ettlingen, causing a full motorway closure.
- Traffic congestion reaches approximately seven kilometers as rescue crews and a helicopter attend the scene.
- Police reopen two northbound lanes, allowing traffic to resume moving slowly past the site.
Clearance operations and partial lane reopening
Disruptions began to ease during the afternoon as emergency personnel completed on-site medical treatment and initial investigative procedures. A police spokeswoman confirmed that two lanes on the northbound carriageway were cleared of debris and reopened to traffic later in the day. The reopening allowed the seven-kilometer queue of vehicles to begin moving slowly past the accident zone. Motorway maintenance crews and local police continued recovery efforts on the remaining obstructed sections until all three damaged vehicles were removed from the road surface.
