Three young men were injured when their heads hit a bridge in trucks participating in graduation celebrations.
Late on Friday evening, three young people were injured while on board trucks celebrating high school graduations in Copenhagen in two separate incidents in Vallensbæk and Ishøj, according to the West Copenhagen Police (Københavns Vestegns Politi).
One accident occurred on Friday evening at 10 pm in Vejlegårdsparken in Vallensbæk near a bridge, and two young men were taken to the hospital with head injuries.
The second incident occurred shortly after 3 a.m. early Saturday morning in Ishøj Stationsvej, also in Ishøj, near a bridge. A young man was taken to the hospital with head injuries.
The situation as of Saturday morning is that one of the injured has been discharged from the hospital, another is expected to be discharged over the weekend, while the third injured person is still in the hospital but out of danger.
Initial investigations indicate that the three victims in both cases were standing on some kind of raised platform on the open bed of the truck, which could be higher than the truck itself, and were struck by a bridge when the truck passed underneath it.
The two incidents resulted in an ambulance and a medical ambulance being dispatched, and the three injured people were taken to hospitals for treatment.
West Copenhagen police have filed provisional charges under Section 252 of the Criminal Code, which relates to endangering the lives and limbs of others, against three drivers responsible for driving.
Both trucks are in police custody and have been temporarily impounded pending confiscation under reckless driving regulations. Deputy Inspector Søren Ennemark stated in a press release: “It is truly tragic for everyone that a celebration should end with accidents in which young people are injured. I would urge everyone – whether you are in the driver's cab or on board the truck – to act immediately if dangerous situations arise while driving in the coming days, and to stop if necessary.”.
Once the investigations into the two incidents are completed, the Public Prosecution will decide on the matter of bringing charges.
Young people loitering outside of cars
In addition to these two incidents, police in western Copenhagen on Friday charged two drivers who drove their cars in Rødovre and Albertslund with passengers sitting on the door sill, their upper bodies outside the vehicle, as part of recent graduation celebrations. In both cases, the vehicles were impounded, and the drivers were charged with endangering others.
