Two women die after a 75-year-old's Opel hits a bus on DK9 in Kupno
A 75-year-old woman driving an Opel Corsa and her female passenger died on Monday, 12 October, after the car failed to yield and drove into a Mercedes bus on national road 9 in Kupno, Podkarpackie. Preliminary information says none of the 15 people on the bus was seriously hurt.
The collision
On Monday, 12 October, at around 16:20 according to most reports, a 75-year-old woman driving an Opel Corsa collided with a Mercedes bus on national road 9 (DK9) at Kupno, in Kolbuszowa county of the Podkarpackie region. Her passenger, also a woman, was in the car, and both women died at the scene. The crash happened at the 172nd kilometre of the road, where rescuers and police found the small car's wreck completely destroyed. The bus carried 15 people, and preliminary information says none of them suffered serious injuries.
Police set out their preliminary findings in a statement from the Kolbuszowa police:
Preliminary findings by police show that the 75-year-old woman driving the Opel Corsa, travelling with a passenger, did not yield right of way to a Mercedes bus travelling on national road 9. As a result of this manoeuvre, the Opel drove directly under the oncoming bus.
Rescue at the scene
Volunteer firefighters from OSP Kupno reached the scene five minutes after receiving the alert. Together with an off-duty police officer already on site, they started cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the passenger and used a defibrillator from their vehicle. Firefighters from JRG Kolbuszowa joined them shortly afterwards. At the same time, rescuers and state fire service (PSP) officers worked to reach the driver, who was trapped in the wreck. She was freed after several dozen minutes of intensive work, but neither woman could be saved.
The OSP Kupno volunteers described the outcome in their own account:
After several dozen minutes of intensive work, we managed to get her out. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, the lives of both women could not be saved.
Road closure and traffic
The crash caused traffic disruption that lasted several hours. Police closed national road 9 at Kupno completely to traffic, set up detours and asked drivers to avoid the stretch. Officers also asked drivers to follow their instructions and take special care while passing the scene. The road closure was in place while investigators worked at the site and the vehicles were removed.
A conflicting report
A separate report citing the national roads authority GDDKiA describes a collision between a car and a bus on DK9 at about 16:40, on the section between Nowa Deba and Glogow Malopolski. That account says two people were injured rather than killed. The articles do not establish whether it describes the same crash, so the two versions remain unreconciled. GDDKiA expected the disruption to last about three hours, and heavy goods vehicles were told to wait until traffic was restored.
Investigation
Police officers remained at the scene to establish the exact circumstances and causes of the crash. Their preliminary findings point to the failure to yield, but the investigation into the causes is still under way. The bus passengers were not seriously hurt according to early information. Drivers in the area were asked to keep to the detours until the road reopened.
