Sabac Loznica Highway Crash Kills Two Road Workers
A crash on the Sabac Loznica highway near the Zminjak interchange killed two road workers, aged 59 and 62, employed by Signal Sombor. The truck driver has been detained.
Two road workers were killed this morning in a crash on the Sabac Loznica highway, near the Zminjak interchange. A truck pulling a trailer struck their vehicle, which was parked beside the road, and hit the men themselves, at around 8 a.m. Both died at the scene. They were 59 and 62 years old, and worked for the Signal Sombor company, which installs and maintains road signaling.
The crash occurred on the section heading toward Loznica. The workers were carrying out routine road maintenance at the time. Their vehicle was properly marked and had its warning lights on, signaling to other drivers that work was underway.
What Was Found at the Scene
The roadway was left littered with scattered cones, pieces of wreckage and broken glass. According to unofficial information, the truck came to a stop only after sideswiping the protective guardrail, which sustained heavy damage. The same sources say the truck was registered to a company from Valjevo, while the workers who died had been hired through the firm from Sombor.
Traffic on the section was completely shut down, and backups built up for hours. Ambulance crews, firefighters and police responded to the scene. The on site investigation lasted into the afternoon.
Was the Road Workers’ Vehicle Marked?
Yes. Both accounts from the scene and a statement from the relevant ministry confirm this. The vehicle was parked beside the road with its warning lights on, the kind used specifically for this type of work. Because of that, investigators are focusing on the truck rather than on how the worksite was marked.
Driver Held for 48 Hours
The truck driver was taken into custody later that day. On order of the competent prosecutor, he was ordered held for up to 48 hours. Detention is not a punishment but a pretrial measure, and a suspect cannot be labeled guilty before a final verdict. The circumstances under which he struck the marked vehicle have yet to be established.
Ministry: Causes Under Investigation
The Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure issued a statement after 2 p.m.
The competent authorities are determining the causes of the serious traffic accident that occurred this morning on the Sabac-Loznica highway, in which two workers of the Signal Sombor company, engaged in installing and maintaining road signaling, lost their lives.
The statement said relevant services had gone to the scene immediately after the accident was reported, in order to establish the circumstances that led to it. The ministry added that the public would be informed once the investigation was complete and all relevant information gathered, and it offered condolences to the families, colleagues and friends of the victims.
Timeline of the Day
Here is how the official sequence of events unfolded:
- around 8 a.m., a truck strikes the road workers’ vehicle near the Zminjak interchange, both men die at the scene
- before 9 a.m., Serbia’s Interior Ministry (MUP) confirms the first details of the crash and that two road maintenance workers died
- after 2 p.m., the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure says the competent authorities are determining the causes
- around 3:26 p.m., it is confirmed that the truck driver has been taken into custody and ordered held
So a little more than seven hours passed between the crash and the driver’s detention. The on site investigation and the wider probe still need to answer why the driver neither slowed down nor swerved, even though the road workers’ vehicle was clearly marked. The results of the forensic examination will be key to how the case is classified.
