Friday 19th May 1933

Otto Merz (33), winner of the 1927 German Grand Prix, was killed when he crashed at the Avus Circuit in Germany. A few minutes after 13:00, Merz crashed his SSK on the long straight, near the Grunewald station and nearly two kilometers away from the finish line. At the place of the accident the surface changed from cobblestones to tarmac, and traces of the car trajectory were clearly visible on the cobblestones – but suddenly ended. The next mark left by the vehicle was found 36 meters further on, where the car hit the ground again. The Mercedes-Benz crashed into a cement milestone on the right side of the track, and, according to the single eye-witness, it somersaulted and rolled several times. The car stopped with its wheels in the air near an embankment.[6] Ejected from the car, rescuers found Merz on his back on the right side of the track. He was transported to the Hildegard Hospital at Charlottenburg, a suburb of Berlin and very near the accident site, but his condition was beyond help.