The engine block was thrown out of the vehicle by the force of the impact on 19 December 2023. / © Domingos Oliveira / RTL
A year has passed since a 19-year-old man was killed in a head-on collision in Lauterborn, but his family says they still have no answers from the authorities.
Exactly one year after a head-on collision claimed the life of a 19-year-old man, his family says they have been left in the dark about the circumstances surrounding the accident.
On 19 December 2023, the young man died in Lauterborn, near Echternach. Two of his brothers spoke to our colleagues from RTL Infos about the emotional toll of the tragedy. For privacy reasons, only their initials, H.H. and D.H., are used in this article.
"Our family is devastated," H.H., the younger of the two brothers, said. Twelve months after the accident, he expressed frustration over the lack of progress. "Nothing has happened for a year," he remarked, noting that the uncertainty has become unbearable.
D.H., the eldest sibling, recounted the painful months following his brother's death. He described the emotional moment he arrived at the scene of the crash. "I couldn't understand why they wouldn't let me near my brother. I wanted to hold him one last time… It still haunts me today," he said.
Since then, D.H. has struggled emotionally. "Psychologically, I'm in a catastrophic state," he admitted, explaining that he suffers from frequent memory lapses and difficulty concentrating. As a result, his psychiatrist declared him unfit to drive, causing him to lose his job as a bus driver.
Despite this, D.H. holds no resentment toward his employer, who let him go after a six-month sick leave. What matters most to him now, he said, is finding answers. "My younger brother was an exemplary young man. He was 19 and talked about going to work to take care of our parents. That's the kind of person he was," D.H. recalled.
The young man had dreamed of joining the Luxembourg police force. He had passed his exams and was scheduled for an interview on 21 December. Unfortunately, he never showed up. "Put yourself in our shoes," H.H. said, his voice full of frustration over the turn of events.
Twelve months after the accident that forever changed their lives, the family of the victim has still not received any information from the authorities. According to Henri Eippers, spokesman for the Judicial Administration, the investigation is still ongoing. A reliable source informed our colleagues that a reconstruction took place last week at the scene of the accident, although Eippers was unable to confirm this.
"We're told that it's a matter of the secrecy of investigations"
When contacted, the family's lawyer confirmed that she had received "no information to date" about the case, noting that this is normal procedure. "The law is like that," she said. In practice, as long as an investigation is active, the details are kept confidential, even when a civil party is involved. In this case, that includes the victim's family.
The lawyer explained that families often become civil parties in hopes of gaining access to the case file, though this does not always result in more information. " We're told that it's a matter of the secrecy of investigations.... And rightly so," she commented. However, she admitted that "there is a gulf between the law and real life," particularly in cases like this where not knowing can be agonising for the family. "You have to understand their position," she said.
A year without answers has been incredibly difficult for the victim's family, especially with parents in poor health. "The family was determined to give the investigation time," the lawyer explained, but over the course of the year, their condition has worsened. "They're up against the wall, they don't know what to do anymore," she confirmed. Despite this, she assured our colleagues that she remains in "regular contact" with the examining magistrate handling the case.
"We don't know anything," the lawyer repeated. "We expect the courts to tell us what happened" on 19 December 2023 in Lauterborn, she concluded.
Our colleagues contacted the judicial authorities for further information, but they were unable to provide any additional details. The investigation will therefore continue until its conclusion, with no set timeline.
What do we know about this accident?
The fatal crash occurred in the early evening of 19 December 2023, on the N11 in Lauterborn, near Echternach. Emergency services and police responded quickly to the scene. The police recorded 5.55pm as the official time of the collision, which claimed the life of a 19-year-old man.
The authorities have confirmed that the accident was a head-on collision between two cars, but few additional details have been released. It is known that one of the vehicles was pushed into a third car involved in the crash.
The driver of the black car, which was the primary vehicle in the collision, died at the scene. The driver of the white car suffered minor injuries, while the third motorist involved in the accident was unharmed.
