Driver hits bus shelter in Poznań, killing 66-year-old man sitting on bench

What happened

On Wednesday, 4 November, shortly before noon, a Ford Focus left the road on ul. Termalna in Poznań, mounted the pavement and hit a bus shelter bench. A 66-year-old man who was sitting on the bench waiting for a bus died at the scene. Police received the first report of a pedestrian struck by a car at around 11:50, a time also given by the fire service duty officer.

What the police know

Sergeant Michał Wiśniowski of the Poznań city police said preliminary findings show the 23-year-old driver did not adjust his speed to road conditions. The car then lost control, ran onto the pavement and struck the bench. Police said the driver was sober at the time of the crash. He was detained, and explanations were being taken from him. He alerted emergency services himself by calling 112 and stayed at the scene until rescuers arrived. Police said no one else was injured or taken to hospital.

Asked whether road conditions might have played a part, or whether the crash was a driver error, Wiśniowski said that for now everything pointed to speeding.

“We are talking about a typical case of speeding, but how it actually looked and what influenced it will only be a matter of further verification.”

Open questions

Early reports did not agree on every detail. One report gave the driver's age as 24, while police gave 23. A fire service duty officer's first information described the pedestrian as about 50 years old, before police confirmed the victim was 66. Police said the cause has not been established and that only preliminary findings exist. Officers working under prosecutor supervision are securing traces they consider key to establishing the circumstances.

At the scene

Ul. Termalna was closed to traffic at the time of the reports, and emergency services were still working on site. Police said further checks will determine what influenced the crash.