Lorry driver fails to see car and crushes it - Updated

A serious traffic accident on the A4 motorway between the Rütihof junction and Cham brought traffic in the region to a standstill for hours on Monday evening.
 

There was a serious traffic accident on the A4 motorway near Cham on Monday. On Tuesday morning, the Zug Police provided details of exactly what had happened. According to the report, the accident occurred shortly after 4 pm between the Rütihof junction and Cham when a 46-year-old lorry driver attempted to change lanes. He thereby failed to see the car of a 25-year-old woman driver and collided with it, causing both vehicles to spin around out of control. The lorry then overturned onto the car and came to rest "lying on top of the car" –across all the lanes.

The woman driver was trapped inside her vehicle. In order to rescue her, emergency responders from the Zug fire department first had to secure the accident site. A crane was then used to remove the truck's cargo and lift the truck. Only then could the woman be freed from the car.

Unfortunately, she sustained serious injuries in the accident, according to police report. After receiving initial medical treatment from the Zug Ambulance Service (Rettungsdienst Zug), she was airlifted by an Alpine Air Ambulance helicopter to a hospital outside the canton.

The lorry driver was able to exit his vehicle on his own. He, too, was taken to the hospital by the Zug ambulance service after receiving initial treatment at the scene, reportedly with minor injuries.

The truck crushed the car beneath it.
The accident occurred on the A4 motorway between the Rütihof and Cham junctions.
The car was trapped under the truck.
A massive traffic jam on the motorway between Goldau and Küssnacht near Arth around 7:30 p.m. At least an exemplary emergency lane was formed.
Photos: Zug Police
Webcam footage from Rigi Scheidegg showed a long traffic jam stretching back to Arth at 7:30 p.m., three and a half hours after the accident.                Photo: Screenshot Webcam Rigi Scheidegg)
Traffic around Rotkreuz came to a standstill in many places on Monday evening.
Screenshot: Google Maps
 

The A4 was closed for six hours
The Zug cantonal prosecutor's office (Staatsanwaltschaft) is now investigating the cause of the accident. The forensic science service and specialists from the Zug traffic police were on site to secure evidence, while drone pilots from the Zug Police were deployed to document the accident. The vehicles involved were impounded.

The A4 motorway from the Rütihof junction in the direction of Zurich was closed for six hours as a result of the accident. Firefighters from the surrounding fire brigades also closed “all motorway entrance roads in the affected area” and diverted traffic..

"There were significant traffic disruptions," according to the police.

Reports from readers also indicated that Monday's rush hour traffic came to a complete standstill. “It took me over an hour to get from Rotkreuz to Zurich, I had to drive via Gisikon – Sins – Maschwanden - Mettmenstetten, and it took over 40 minutes just to get to Sins, even though it was practically in the opposite direction,” one reader told the Zuger Zeitung newspaper. “It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to get from Röhrliberg in Cham to Meierskappel at 5 pm,” wrote another reader.

Source: Zug Police