The circumstances under which the horrific road accident occurred on the Egnatia Highway, at the Polymylos toll station, are starting to become clear: According to what the authorities have gathered so far, everything happened under conditions of heavy fog and almost zero visibility, when a car tried to go through an electronic toll lane. However, the sensor failed to detect the e-pass, the barrier didn’t rise, and as a result, the driver reversed to try again.

At that moment, the driver of the second car following behind couldn’t brake in time due to the fog and crashed into the reversing vehicle. The collision immediately sparked a fire, and two people inside the cars were burned alive. Just a few minutes later, a semi-truck following the two cars plowed into them, crashed into the toll booth, and also went up in flames. The truck driver, who is Ukrainian, has been arrested. Four people were injured, and according to the information so far, their lives are not in danger.

The accident happened a little after four in the afternoon, and since then, the Egnatia Highway heading toward Kozani has remained closed. Thousands of drivers are trapped, and the traffic jam has stretched to 22 kilometers.