Two 12-year-old cyclists killed on way to school in Dinslaken; medical emergency suspected as cause

The collision

Shortly before classes began at 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday, a 47-year-old woman driving on Hagenstraße in Dinslaken lost control of her car and plowed into a group of three 12-year-old boys on bicycles. The children, all from Duisburg, were on their way to a secondary school. The vehicle then careened into three parked cars, causing significant damage.

Two of the boys suffered injuries so severe that they later died in hospital. The third 12-year-old sustained only light injuries and was cared for by his parents without being admitted. The driver herself was seriously hurt and taken to a hospital.

The investigation

Police and the Duisburg public prosecutor's office are investigating the cause. Authorities stated that nothing currently points to an intentional act. According to dpa information, an internal-medicine emergency may have been the trigger. A police spokesperson confirmed that questioning the driver had not yet been possible.

A police officer who was regulating traffic at a nearby intersection — where he was accompanying a cyclist training session — was among the first responders and immediately reported the incident. The officer later received pastoral care and could not initially be questioned about what he witnessed.

The aftermath at school

The day after the crash, school psychologists, emergency chaplains, and additional social workers were deployed at the secondary school the boys attended. A city spokesperson said special attention was being given to the classmates grieving the loss of two peers. "The school is prepared for the fact that processing this terrible event will be a process," she said, adding that the first school day after the accident marked the beginning of that journey.

With all the public attention, we ask for understanding that the school, pupils, teachers, and parents now need time to grasp and process what happened, because it was a very difficult day and many more very difficult days will follow.

Official response

North Rhine-Westphalia school minister Dorothee Feller (CDU) pledged support to both the secondary school and a nearby primary school. "We will support the schools with everything we can," Feller told the German Press Agency. She expressed condolences to the families, friends, and everyone at the affected schools.

What happened today in Dinslaken is terrible. Losing a child is the worst thing for parents.

The scene

A kiosk owner whose shop sits just meters from the crash site closed his businesses for the day. Hours later he sat on the steps of his entrance, head in his hands, visibly shaken. "I closed the kiosk and my other two shops," he said, too moved to say more.

The accident site lies in a residential area near a primary school. Multiple ambulances and a specialized accident-investigation team responded. Surrounding streets were cordoned off during the on-site investigation.