On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, at 9:50 AM, the automatic accident detection in the Wihaldentunnel of the H16 bypass reported an accident event to the St. Gallen Cantonal Emergency Call Center. According to current knowledge, there was a head-on collision in the Wihaldentunnel of the Bazenheid bypass between a car and a truck, causing the car to be propelled into another following car, and the truck collided with a third car in the opposite lane.
Collided head-on with a truck
According to current knowledge, a 49-year-old man was driving his car from Wil towards Wattwil. During this, the car veered onto the opposite lane, resulting in a head-on collision with the oncoming truck driven by a 48-year-old driver. The force of the collision sent the car back and it collided with the car driven by a 78-year-old woman, who was also headed towards Wattwil.
After the collision, the truck crossed over to the opposite lane and crashed into another oncoming car driven by a 67-year-old man and his 73-year-old female passenger. The car was pushed against the tunnel wall and dragged several meters by the truck.
49-year-old dies, 73-year-old as well
The 49-year-old Swiss man who caused the accident died at the scene. He was a resident of the region. The 78-year-old woman in the following car sustained minor injuries. The emergency services took her to the hospital. The 67-year-old driver of the third car was severely injured in the accident. The Rega airlifted him to the hospital. His 73-year-old Swiss female passenger from the Canton of Zurich was fatally injured. The truck driver remained physically uninjured.
Large-scale operation
A large-scale operation was underway involving several patrols and specialists from the St. Gallen Cantonal Police, the emergency services, and Rega with medical personnel, as well as the public prosecutor’s office and the Institute of Forensic Medicine. The fire department was responsible for the recovery. The H16 bypass road was closed for several hours and needed to be cleaned by maintenance services.