A9 / Eisenberg, 09.03.2026 – A burst tire and massive overloading led to a serious traffic accident on the Autobahn 9 on Sunday afternoon. A small van overturned, injuring two people and scattering the cargo – numerous doner skewers – across the roadway.
- What: Serious traffic accident with overturned small van
- When: Sunday, March 8, 2026, around noon
- Where: Bundesautobahn 9 (A9), direction München, between the junctions Eisenberg and Bad Klosterlausnitz
- Consequences: Two injured (one seriously), a two-hour full closure, and lost cargo (doner skewers)
Tire blowout leads to loss of control
The accident occurred on the busy A9 towards München. Between the junctions Eisenberg and Bad Klosterlausnitz, a tire suddenly burst on a small van while driving. The 56-year-old driver subsequently lost control of the vehicle. The van veered off the road to the left, collided with the central barrier, and finally overturned.
The driver sustained minor injuries in the heavy impact. His 36-year-old passenger, however, suffered serious injuries and required medical treatment. The hazard site quickly caused a follow-up accident: a following female driver could no longer avoid the debris lying on the road in time. Her car was damaged when she drove over it.
Van was massively overloaded
During the subsequent accident investigation by the police, a critical detail came to light: the crashed van was overloaded by a full 55 percent. The cargo consisted of numerous frozen doner skewers. This enormous overloading is likely to have had a significant negative impact on the vehicle’s handling and significantly contributed to the loss of control after the tire blowout.
During the extensive recovery operations, part of the cargo came loose and rolled onto the highway. To clear the meat skewers and safely recover the accident vehicle, the lanes heading towards München had to be completely closed for nearly two hours. This led to noticeable disruptions in Sunday holiday traffic.
Background: Danger to life through overloading
The A9 is one of the most important north-south traffic axes and is heavily frequented, especially on weekends. Accidents on the sections in the Saale-Holzland-Kreis, particularly near the Hermsdorfer Kreuz, often lead to extensive traffic jams that also strain alternative routes via the federal highways B7 and B88 around Jena.
Traffic experts and the highway police warn urgently about the consequences of overloading. Excessive weight not only drastically increases the braking distance but also puts extreme stress on the vehicle’s tires – the risk of a tire blowout increases exponentially. Furthermore, the vehicle’s center of gravity shifts, which massively increases the risk of skidding during sudden steering maneuvers. In addition to the immense risk of accidents, such overloading (here 55%) carries the threat of heavy fines and points in the driving aptitude register in Flensburg. For vehicles up to 7.5 tons, an overload of 20% or more usually results in an immediate ban on further travel until the load has been transferred.
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Doner skewers roll across the highway
Transparency note: This article was automatically created, editorially reviewed, and expanded with AI support.