On the night of July 6, 2025, the bustling streets of Frankfurt’s Gallus district were shattered by a catastrophic collision on Mainzer Landstraße. A car, veering onto a cycle path, struck two e-scooters carrying three young men, killing 23-year-old twin brothers and leaving a 27-year-old man critically injured. An eyewitness, shaken by the tragedy, described the moment: “I only heard a loud bang, saw a flash, and a scooter dragged 10 meters.” Captured by nearby CCTV, the incident has sparked grief, outrage, and renewed calls for improved road safety in Germany’s financial hub. The devastating crash, which saw one scooter trapped beneath the car, highlights the dangers faced by e-scooter riders and the urgent need for better urban traffic planning.

A Night of Tragedy Unfolds

The accident occurred around 2:35 a.m. near the intersection of Ludwigstraße, close to Skyline Plaza and the Güterplatz. Three young men and a 24-year-old woman were riding e-scooters on a designated cycle path along Mainzer Landstraße, heading outbound from Frankfurt’s city center. The twins, both 23, shared one scooter, while the 27-year-old man rode another, with the woman trailing behind on a third. According to police reports, a black Toyota Corolla Verso, driven by a 23-year-old man identified as Mohammad S., veered right onto the cycle path for reasons still under investigation. The car struck the two leading scooters with devastating force, sending one crashing into a nearby shisha bar’s outdoor area, where patrons witnessed the horror unfold.

The eyewitness account paints a vivid picture of the chaos: a deafening bang, a flash of light—possibly from the car’s headlights or sparks from the collision—and one scooter dragged approximately 10 meters under the vehicle’s undercarriage. One of the twins died instantly at the scene, while his brother succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. The 27-year-old rider, whose scooter was reportedly dragged, sustained life-threatening injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital. The woman on the third scooter, unscathed but traumatized, witnessed the aftermath. The driver, accompanied by three passengers, initially fled, leaving the wreckage behind, but returned on foot to surrender to police. The car was later found three kilometers away on Am Römerhof, impounded for forensic analysis.

Investigations and Disturbing Details

The Frankfurt police, in collaboration with the public prosecutor’s office, have arrested the driver, charging him with manslaughter, dangerous driving, and leaving the scene of an accident. Early investigations suggest he was speeding, with some sources indicating possible use of nitrous oxide (laughing gas), a substance linked to impaired driving. Shockingly, reports note that even as one victim lay on the car’s hood, the driver continued to accelerate, dragging the scooter and exacerbating the tragedy. The police are seeking additional witnesses, particularly those with dashcam or CCTV footage, to clarify why the car veered onto the cycle path. A call for information has been issued, with contact details provided for tips, including an email (d620-extern.ppffm@polizei.hessen.de) and a hotline (069/755 46 210).

The CCTV footage, though not publicly released, is a critical piece of evidence, capturing the moment the car collided with the scooters. The eyewitness’s description of a “loud bang” and “flash” aligns with the high-speed impact, while the 10-meter drag underscores the collision’s violence. Social media discussions, including posts on Reddit, have echoed this account, with some users estimating the drag distance based on police statements that the scooter was pulled “several meters.” The exact distance remains an approximation, but it reflects the crash’s severity, as the scooter was lodged beneath the car, likely causing catastrophic injuries.

A Community in Grief

The loss of the twin brothers, described as vibrant 23-year-olds, has left Frankfurt reeling. A cousin of the victims, posting in Vietnamese community groups, appealed for eyewitnesses, highlighting the brothers’ Vietnamese heritage and their youth—just 23 years old. A funeral service drew hundreds, with candles and lights glowing in their memory, a poignant tribute to lives cut short. The 27-year-old survivor remains in critical condition, his recovery uncertain. The community’s grief has spilled onto platforms like X, where users expressed horror at the driver’s alleged intoxication and initial flight, with one post stating, “I feel so sick and depressed reading this.”

The tragedy has also drawn attention to the victims’ identities. While the brothers’ names have not been publicly released, reports indicate they were Vietnamese immigrants, adding a layer of cultural resonance to the community’s mourning. The woman on the third scooter, though physically unharmed, faces the emotional toll of witnessing the loss of her companions. Vigils and online tributes continue to reflect the profound impact of the crash on Frankfurt’s diverse population.

E-Scooter Risks in the Spotlight

This accident is part of a growing trend of e-scooter-related injuries and fatalities in Germany. A 2025 study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) analyzed data from the German Society for Trauma Surgery’s TraumaRegister, revealing that e-scooter accidents often involve serious head and facial injuries, particularly among young men riding at night or on weekends. The study found that 62% of injured riders tested positive for alcohol, and 54% of accidents occurred at night—patterns evident in the Frankfurt crash. None of the victims were wearing helmets, a common issue noted in 93% of e-scooter cases in Hamburg, where helmet use is rare compared to cycling.

Since e-scooters were introduced in German cities in 2019, their popularity has surged, but so have the risks. A 2020 Frankfurt study reported that 38% of e-scooter injuries involved head trauma, exacerbated by the scooters’ instability at high speeds and the lack of protective gear. The Mainzer Landstraße crash highlights the vulnerability of riders on cycle paths, where collisions with cars, though less frequent than for cyclists, can be deadly. The TUM study noted that only 2% of e-scooter accidents involve collisions with other road users, compared to 18% for cyclists, but when they occur, the consequences are severe.

Urban Planning and Driver Accountability

The crash has intensified scrutiny of Frankfurt’s traffic infrastructure. Mainzer Landstraße, a busy artery, is notorious for its unprotected bike lanes and right-turn intersections, which pose risks to cyclists and e-scooter riders. Reddit users familiar with the area described frequent near-misses at the Güterplatz intersection, where parked vehicles, such as a white van mentioned in witness accounts, obscure visibility. One user urged caution, noting that riders and pedestrians often ignore traffic signals in their rush to reach Frankfurt’s Hauptbahnhof. The car’s unexplained veer onto the cycle path raises questions about road design and driver behavior, with calls for protected lanes and better signage.

The driver’s alleged use of nitrous oxide, combined with speeding, underscores a broader issue of impaired driving. Nitrous oxide, legal in small quantities in Germany, impairs reaction times and judgment, similar to alcohol. The fact that the driver continued accelerating despite a victim on the hood suggests a severe lapse, possibly drug-induced, prompting demands for stricter regulations on such substances. The incident also echoes other recent e-scooter fatalities, such as a 2024 case in Essex, where a brother and sister died from head injuries in a hit-and-run, highlighting the need for legal safeguards like mandatory helmet laws and speed limits.

A Call for Reform

The Frankfurt crash, captured in chilling detail by CCTV and etched in the eyewitness’s words—“a loud bang, a flash, and a scooter dragged 10 meters”—is a stark reminder of the dangers facing e-scooter riders. The loss of the twin brothers and the critical injuries to another young man have galvanized calls for change. Safety advocates, including the TUM study’s authors, recommend mandatory helmets, nighttime riding restrictions, and improved infrastructure to protect vulnerable road users. The community’s response, from vigils to online appeals, demands accountability from both drivers and policymakers.

As the investigation continues, with the driver now in custody, Frankfurt faces a reckoning. The tragedy on Mainzer Landstraße is not just a statistic—it’s a call to reimagine urban mobility, ensuring that the streets are safe for all. The memory of the twins, their lives extinguished in a flash, will fuel efforts to prevent such horrors in the future.