Two dead on Slovenian motorway: driver stopped near Lukovica and reversed into traffic

Two people died and a child is in mortal danger after a crash on the Štajerska motorway at the Lukovica rest area, in the direction of Maribor, on the night of Wednesday. The crash happened at around one in the morning, and at 0.49 according to the Ljubljana Regional Notification Centre.

According to police, the 28-year-old driver of a passenger car with Romanian licence plates stopped in the right lane after the exit for the rest area and reversed. The driver of a van that had come up behind him crashed into the car.

The two passengers in the back seats of the car died, both Romanian citizens. A child, a French citizen, was seriously injured. The driver and the front-seat passenger, also Romanian citizens, and the Slovenian van driver suffered lighter injuries.

Police stress that this is based on the information known so far:

"According to the information known so far, the 28-year-old foreign national, the driver of a vehicle with Romanian licence plates, stopped in the right lane after the exit for the Lukovica rest area and reversed. The driver of a van that had come up behind him crashed into it," (translated)

Firefighters from the Domžale Protection and Rescue Centre secured and lit up the scene, disconnected the batteries on the vehicles and neutralised leaked motor fluids. Using a technical intervention, they also pulled two trapped people out of the vehicle, both of whom had died. Emergency medical crews treated four injured people and took them to UKC Ljubljana, the University Medical Centre Ljubljana. The motorway was closed on this section during the intervention.

Police officers are gathering information over a suspected criminal offence. Sources do not explain who is to blame or why the driver stopped and reversed. The competent state prosecutor's office will be informed of the findings.