Vietnamese twins killed in German traffic accident

Two 23-year-old Vietnamese twins were killed while riding an electric scooter in Frankfurt after being hit by a car driving on the wrong side of the road.

According to German media, a 23-year-old man driving a car veered into the bike lane and hit three people riding an electric scooter around 2:30 a.m. on 6/7 on Mainzer Landstraße Street in the Gallus district of Frankfurt.

The two victims, 23-year-old twins Nguyen Duy Quang and Nguyen Quang Minh, were international students from Vietnam, training as dental assistants at a clinic in Altona, Hamburg. One died at the scene, the other in hospital. Their 27-year-old Vietnamese friend who was with them was seriously injured.

Duy Quang and Quang Minh. Photo: Gofundme

Duy Quang and Quang Minh. Photo: Gofundme

Quang and Minh, originally from Ho Chi Minh City, had lived in Hamburg for two years. They, along with Quang's 24-year-old girlfriend from Hamburg and a Vietnamese friend from Berlin, were spending the weekend in Frankfurt to attend a concert by American rapper Kendrick Lamar.

At the time of the accident, Quang and Minh were riding together on one scooter. Quang's girlfriend was riding behind them and was not physically injured, but was left in a state of shock. Police reported that the driver dragged the 27-year-old victim for about 150 m.

The driver fled the scene but turned himself in to police later that night. He is believed to have inhaled nitrous oxide ("laughing gas"). The suspect has been charged with manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, causing grievous bodily harm, and leaving the scene of an accident.

Friends, family, and the local Vietnamese community attend a memorial service for Quang and Minh at St. Petri Church in Hamburg. Photo: Hamburger Morgenpost

Friends, family, and the local Vietnamese community attend a memorial service for Quang and Minh at St. Petri Church in Hamburg. Photo: Hamburger Morgenpost

The dental clinic where Quang and Minh were training launched a fundraising campaign on Gofundme to help cover the costs of repatriating their bodies and holding funerals in Vietnam. As of the evening of 22/7, nearly 138,000 USD had been raised.

"I still clearly remember when the two applied to work with us," recalled Dr. Christina Essers, the clinic's owner. She described the twins as polite, idealistic young men, full of hope. According to Essers, they had prepared meticulously for their journey, spoke fluent German, and expressed a clear desire to live and work in Hamburg to provide a better future for their family back home.

"Minh and Quang gave us so much," she said. "Now, we want to give back to them, at least a small part."