The death of a cyclist after a traffic collision in Berlin has revived a growing debate in Germany about climate crisis protests.
Sandra Umann, 44, was severely injured last Monday when her bike collided with a cement mixer lorry when she was cycling to work. A specialist rescue vehicle dispatched to the scene was delayed in reaching her because of a blockade by activists from the movement The Last Generation. Her death was announced on Friday.
Her twin sister Anja accused the group of insensitivity in their reaction to the matter, saying she was deeply hurt over their “ignorant” response, but added that she did not blame them for the death, amid widespread condemnation of the group’s actions and speculation that Sandra might have survived had the rescue vehicle not been held up.
The doctor who attended to Umann at the scene has released her medical notes, which state that the blockade had no influence on whether Umann would have survived or not.
Anja Umann gave an interview to Der Spiegel magazine saying she felt the need to express her distress at the way in which the activists, who glued themselves to the road, had appeared to accept that someone might die as a result of their protest, saying they would not change their tactics as a result.
She said she and her sister had stood passionately by the ideals for which the protesters were campaigning, and that had added to her distress over the insensitivity of the remarks by people she believed were ostensibly caring.
On the evening of the incident, the group released a statement expressing its dismay over the incident, acknowledging that a rescue vehicle had been delayed in reaching Umann because of the protest. Members of the group had glued themselves to a bridge over the A100, a busy western route into the capital. “We are distressed that a cyclist was injured by a lorry today. We ardently hope that her condition did not worsen as a result of the delay,” said the group’s spokesperson, Carla Hinrichs.
Aimée van Baalen, a climate protester who was involved, said that if the group had not been forced to such radical action by the government’s lack of action, the incident might not have occurred, and the protests would only end “if the government showed it was prepared to act” on the group’s demands.
Tatzio Müller, a member of the group, wrote on Twitter in reaction to the collision: “Shit, but: don’t be intimidated by this. It is a battle for the climate, not a snuggle up, and shit happens.” He later deleted the tweet, apologising for what he called his “stupid and disrespectful formulation in relation to a woman who is in a critically ill condition”.
Germany’s Green party robustly condemned the group’s tactics, while stopping short of suggesting they may have directly contributed to the woman’s death. “Anyone who risks the health and life of others loses all legitimacy, as well as harming the climate movement itself,” said Robert Habeck, the vice-chancellor and Germany’s economy minister, who is a senior Green party member.
In her interview with Der Spiegel, the victim’s sister issued an appeal to the protesters to rethink their methods. “Maybe there is another way in which to fight for the survival of our planet without risking putting other people’s lives at risk,” she said.
She was not interested in attributing guilt, or feeling anger. “Anger will not give me back my sister,” she said. “I will continue to stand behind the protesters but I do question their methods.”
Umann paid tribute to her sister, her identical twin, to whom she said she had an inseparable bond. The two shared a joint passion for environmental issues and had founded a vegan fashion label together, while her sister refused to own a car.
“My sister was my world, just as I was her world. When I last saw her on Monday it was to see her out of the door with her bike to go to work ... I said to her: ‘Please drive carefully; I look forward to seeing you later.’ She cycled off and 10 minutes later the accident happened, not far from where we live.” Umann did not find out about the collision until that evening, after her sister failed to return home.
When doctors finally allowed Umann to see her sister, she said, “it was hardly possible to touch her because everything was so damaged. She was in an induced coma and being artificially respirated. There was one small place on her forehead which I was able to touch and to stroke her hair.”
She said doctors told her on Wednesday to prepare for her sister’s death. Sandra died the following day.
Umann said that to have lost her sister was “like living a nightmare. My sister and I are identical twins … we were never separated in our entire 44 years, and did everything together.”
Police have launched proceedings against two activists, a 63-year-old and a 59-year-old, accusing them of failure to render assistance in an emergency and preventing a person from receiving assistance.
A white “ghost bike”, of the kind regularly erected after cyclists’ deaths in road accidents, has been placed at the site of Umann’s collision as a memorial.
