PPA: 13 people injured in midsummer eve traffic accidents, mainly cyclists

Jaanilaupäev, or midsummer's eve, saw 13 people injured in traffic accidents, the bulk of them cyclists, the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) says. There were no fatalities.
Midsummer eve is a busy time for the PPA with celebrations taking place nationwide, often accompanied by alcohol consumption. While this year's Jaanipäev has been more subdued than previous years in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, a few of whose restrictions still remain in place, this has to be offset against the particularly warm weather, pandemic fatigue and the fact that midsummer is one of the biggest annual holidays on the calendar.
27 drunk drivers were apprehended over the course of Tuesday, the PPA reports, and there were no reports of stolen or abandoned vehicles.
Road traffic accident breakdown for Tuesday, June 23 (source: PPA):
- 10.51 a.m.: A 20-year-old male driver turns from a side road into the main Põltsamaa-Võhma road at Loopre village, Viljandi County, disrupting a group of cyclists. While none of them are hit by the car, a 45-year-old male cyclist loses control and falls from his bike, later requiring hospital treatment. The driver leaves the scene without stopping, but is later intercepted and says that he was oblivious both to the fact that his driving actions could have endangered others or that a cyclist had come off his bike as a direct result of his driving.
- 11.15 a.m.: A minor accident happens in Tapa, Lääne-Viru County, when a six year old boy rides out on a bicycle in front of a car driven by a 69-year-old man. The incident happened at a junction so speeds were not high, though the child still required a checkup at Rakvere Hospital after an ambulance is called around an hour after the event.
- 11.50 a.m.: A 61-year-old woman driver knocks a cyclist off their bike in the village of Martsa, Ida-Viru County. The woman said she had been distracted while driving, and the cyclist requires hospitalization.
- 12.46 p.m.: A 14-year-old boy requires ambulance attention after cycling into a street lamp-post in Tartu.
- 1.00 p.m.: A 61-year-old woman cyclist requires hospitalization at Ida-Viru Central Hospital after being hit at an intersection in the eastern Estonian town of Kohtla-Järve.
- 1.56 p.m.: A 13-year-old boy is injured after crashing an unlicensed ATV into a ditch in Mälivere, near Kohila, Rapla County.
- 2.35 p.m.: A 30-year-old man driver strikes a 16-year-old girl sunbathing in a parking lot in Nõo, Tartu County. The girl is taken to Tartu University Hospital.
- 5.53 p.m.: An accident in Keila, near Tallinn, involves a 61-year-old male driver of a jeep hitting a car driven by a 38-year-old man, at an intersection, causing the latter to collide with a traffic sign and end up in a garden. The younger driver was at fault, since he was required to yield to the jeep at the intersection. Passengers in both vehicles, including a 6-year-old girl, are hospitalized at the North Estonia Regional Hospital (PERH) in Tallinn.
- 8.02 p.m.: A 47-year-old woman cyclist loses control of her bike in Lääne-Harju municipality, Harju County, and falls, requiring hospitalization, also at PERH.
- 9.52 p.m.: A traffic accident in Saku, near Tallinn, leads to a 62-year-old man losing control of his motorbike. He requires treatment at PERH.
The holiday continues through Wednesday, June 24.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte