Serious accident on the E18: One person has been charged

The emergency services are in place on the E18 at Bamble, following an accident between a lorry and two cars. The accident was reported on Thursday at 10.40 pm.

A total of five people were involved in the accident, one of whom is described as seriously injured. The person was trapped, but has now been freed. All were sent to Skien hospital by ambulance, according to operations manager Tommy Eriksen.

– The accident occurred in the southbound direction, where two passenger cars have been in a slow-moving queue. A lorry has then sped up and collided into one of the cars, which has then chain-collided into the next car, operations manager Marius Fosvold tells TV 2.

The person who was in the car that was hit by the lorry is described as seriously injured. The condition of the other four is described as stable. The air ambulance was called in, but left the accident scene without taking anyone with them.

– It is difficult to say how high the speed of the lorry was, but there is an 80-zone on the spot, says operations manager Fosvold.

Not long after, Eriksen informs TV 2 that charges have been brought against the driver of the lorry. A mobile phone has also been seized and a blood sample taken from the driver.

– He has probably been inattentive for currently unknown reasons. The police have hypotheses that the person concerned was either tired, used a mobile phone or was intoxicated. The investigation will show this.

Crime scene technicians have been sent to the scene. In addition, the National Road Administration’s accident team is also on its way to the scene. The road will be closed for many hours, the police say.

E18 is now completely closed at the site, and will probably remain so for some time to come. The Swedish Road Administration is working to arrange detour routes.