A 35-year-old man has died in connection with a rally accident in Hässleholm on Saturday. It writes the police on their website.
It is an emotional race director who tells about the fatal accident at the Snapphanerallyt rally race outside Hässleholm.
– It is very emotional, because most people know each other here. So it’s hard, it’s not the kind of ending you want at a major SM rally competition, says race manager CG Wilke, with a trembling voice.
There was a car involved in the accident, in which two people were traveling. The other man, who is in his 30s, is being treated in hospital. For unknown reasons, the car drove off the road and into a tree.
How common is it that there are fatal accidents in rally competitions?
– Very rarely. I don’t know the most recent, it’s been 5-10 years since we needed to send an ambulance to a stretch, says CG Wilke.
Crashes, on the other hand, are common, says the race director.
– It does it all the time, it’s clear when you drive as fast as possible between a and b on a stretch, you can both get a puncture and drive into the ditch. But never injuries like this, he says.
20 years since a fatal accident occurred
The Swedish Automobile Association’s rally chairman, Janne Rydh, was himself present at Saturday’s competition.
– I am very taken by what happened and it is terrible for everyone involved. It was 20 years ago that a participant died in a rally competition in Sweden last time, he says.
The car that crashed into a tree was relatively newly built and in very good condition. With modern safety equipment such as cages, chairs and belts, says Janne Rydh. The driver was experienced and had been driving rallies for many years. In addition, several other cars are said to have passed the stretch where the accident occurred and Rydh does not consider it unusually risky.
– I don’t know why the accident happened. The most common thing is that you misjudge the situation and it is not unique that you drive off the road. The unique thing is that there are such terrible injuries that you don’t survive it, says Rydh.
Furthermore, Janne Rydh says that he considers that the security during the competition was good. With emergency personnel quickly on site at the accident. Race leader CG Wilke shares that view.
What responsibility does the competition organizer have in a situation like this?
– We cannot be held responsible for anything. The competitors themselves are responsible for how fast they drive. We are responsible for making it as safe as possible. That’s why we have emergency vehicles and cordons. But otherwise we can’t do anything, says CG Wilke.
The accident is being investigated as causing the death of another person, but there are no suspects in the case.
– It is a serious accident. What we are doing now is to document the accident scene and try to rule out crime. There is nothing to indicate a crime, but it is a pure accident, says Evelina Olsson, press spokesperson at the police.
In connection with the accident, the competition was cancelled.