The 54-year-old woman, who caused an accident with two fatalities as a "wrong-way driver" in Bochum on Friday, had previously turned around on the autobahn. So she was not - possibly accidentally - driving in the wrong direction, but, according to the investigation, had deliberately changed the direction of travel, said a police spokesman on Sunday. "So everything points to intention."

In the serious accident, the 54-year-old drove her SUV in the wrong direction on the A40 early on Friday morning. Between Bochum-Wattenscheid-West and Gelsenkirchen-Süd there was a collision with two other cars. The wrong-way driver and a 35-year-old man from one of the recorded cars died, the 36-year-old other driver was seriously injured, the police said.

The police have formed a homicide squad. The investigations and witness interviews were in full swing, said the police spokesman on Sunday. It would also examine evidence that the woman could have been in a "mental state of emergency". The woman's body is expected to be autopsied in the middle of next week and examined for alcohol or other substances. In addition, the woman's SUV is being forensically examined.

Support for the victim's family

The NRW police foundation "David and Goliath" donated 2,000 euros for the family of the 35-year-old victim and called for further donations. The man was a father with a wife and two small children aged two and five. Foundation chairman Thomas Weise said on Sunday that he was "deeply shocked by the terrible event". "The fact that the accident may have been caused intentionally is indescribably disturbing."

According to the fire department, there was one person in each of the three accident cars. Any help came too late for the two fatally injured, they died in their cars, a spokesman said. It was certainly a dramatic sight for the emergency services to see this "really severe devastation" at the scene of the accident, he said.