Overview
- Manninger, 48, died when a regional train struck his minivan at an unguarded level crossing near Pabing in the Salzburg area on Thursday morning.
- Emergency crews pulled him from the vehicle and attempted prolonged resuscitation with a defibrillator, but he did not survive, while the train driver and about 25 passengers were uninjured.
- Prosecutors opened a case and appointed technical expert Gerhard Kronreif to extract data from the car’s control units and the train to reconstruct the crash.
- Investigators are checking whether the crossing’s red lights activated in time and have ordered an autopsy as part of the inquiry, describing on‑site work as crime‑scene level documentation.
- In rural Austria, some rail crossings have no physical barriers and rely on lights and signals, a setup now under scrutiny as clubs and former teammates, including Gianluigi Buffon, post tributes.