Car – Storytelling SK-AT

In the afternoon hours of 21 April 1989, the normal processing of passengers travelling to Austria was taking place at the Petržalka-Berg border crossing. The cars, mostly foreign ones, waited in a short queue in front of the customs area, ready for customs and travel clearance. Nothing suggested that a beige Lada 1500 would abruptly set off at full speed in the direction to Austria in the lane reserved for diplomatic vehicles at the very moment the border patrol started opening the security barrier made of reinforced concrete. The beige Lada crashed at high speed into this opening barrier that tore off the roof of the car, which then managed to cross into Austria by inertia. It was not possible to use weapons during this incident due to a large number of civilians present. Unfortunately, one of the two young men did not survive this daring attempt to reach Austria. Peter-Ralph Saurien was killed on the spot at the age of 22. This case was one of the last fatalities at the 11th Border Guard Brigade in Bratislava.