Scotland fan in hospital following crash in Germany as family race to bedside

The family of a Scotland fan who was injured in a serious crash in Germany have rushed to his hospital bedside.

Gary Elis, from Dundee, was one of six people who were injured in the two-car collision near Weeze Airport just after midnight on Thursday, June 13.

It is understood the 23-year-old had been travelling with pals to the Euros when their hired Citroen C3 collided head-on with an S-class Mercedes. His condition is currently unknown.

Gary’s mum Mandy Coleman told The Courier she would update family and friends when they had arrived at the hospital in Germany.

She earlier posted on social media: “Our son has been involved in an accident in Germany and we are currently making arrangements to get out there to be with him.”

German police said their car had been travelling on the wrong side of the road.

Emergency crews including four ambulances rushed to the scene early on Friday morning after the smash. The 25-year-old Scottish driver, and a 23-year-old passenger were seriously injured, with the other three malee passengers, all aged 23, suffering minor injuries.

The driver of the Mercedes, a German national from Düsseldorf also suffered minor injuries.

Pictures from the scene showed multiple crews treating casualties on the road and on grass by the side of the carriageway.

At least one fan can be seen in a kilt and wearing a tartan hat. All six people involved were taken to local hospitals.

A German Police spokesperson told The Record: “On Friday (June 14, 2024) at around 00:10 a.m., a traffic accident occurred on the airport ring in Weeze, in which two people were seriously injured and four people were slightly injured.

“A 25-year-old Scotsman was traveling with four other men from Scotland (25, 23, 23 and 23 years old) in a rental car, a Citroen C3, after arriving at the airport to travel on to Düsseldorf.

“The five men were a group of friends who had traveled to Germany for UEFA EURO 2024. On the way from the terminal towards the exit, the man from Scotland drove in the lane for oncoming traffic.

“This resulted in a head-on collision with a Mercedes Benz S-Class driven by a 45-year-old man from Düsseldorf who was traveling towards the terminal.”

They added: “Based on the investigations as part of the accident report, it is suspected that the Scottish driver used the wrong lane due to the left-hand traffic in his home country.

“The driver of the Citroen and a 23-year-old passenger were seriously injured in the accident, while the driver of the Daimler-Benz and three other people in the Citroen were slightly injured.

“All of the people were taken to various hospitals in the region by the emergency services. The Citroen was seized to protect the property.”

A FCDO Spokesperson said: “We are supporting a number of British nationals following an incident in Germany and are in contact with the local authorities”.

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