A seven-year-old school boy died after being run over by a bin lorry in front of his father.
The child was cycling to school when he was hit at around 7.55am in the Volksdorf district of Hamburg, police said.
A 25-year-old driver was driving the rubbish truck as the boy rode his bicycle parallel to the pavement, Bild reports. The boy then fell for an "unexplained reason" and was caught and killed by the turning truck as he fell, Hamburg police said.
Emergency services were called out to the scene but it was too late. Hamburg Police are now calling for witnesses to come forward.
"This morning in Volksdorf, a 7-year-old cyclist was hit by a truck and fatally injured,” police said in a statement. "According to the first findings, a 25-year-old driver (Bulgarian nationality) of a waste disposal vehicle drove the Streekweg in the direction of Wietreie and wanted to turn right at the level of Horstlooge street.
“The 7-year-old boy rode his bicycle parallel on the sidewalk and fell for an unexplained reason at the level of the Horstlooge. He fell onto the roadway, was caught by the turning truck and fatally injured.
"An immediately alerted traffic accident team of the Innenstadt/West Traffic Directorate (VD 23) took over the accident recording on site. The emergency services also used a 3D scanner and a drone and called in an expert to support them.”
Further investigations, including the technical facilities of the truck, are being conducted, the police said.
Witnesses are asked to contact the Hamburg police hotline or a police station at 040 4286-56789.
The number of fatalities from traffic accidents in Germany has declined by 25 per cent over the last decade, a smaller decrease than the EU’s average of 36 per cent, according to the European Commission.
