A 71-year-old woman has to spend another year in jail after an argument over damage to the exterior of the house in 2022 got so out of hand that a 38-year-old Polish woman died. During the argument in the center of Lith, the victim was taken more than a hundred meters onto the hood of the 71-year-old’s car, then launched and run over. She died in the hospital.
The woman was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on Tuesday, but she has already served part of that sentence in pre-trial detention. Which leaves another year in prison.
Justice previously demanded eight years in prison, but the court believes that the 71-year-old woman is not fully accountable. The penalty is therefore lower. The 71-year-old must go to prison immediately. She is also not allowed to drive a vehicle for ten years and must pay more than 80,000 euros in damages.
Polish and Dutch swear words
It was Wednesday evening, July 13, when Elly van der S., 69 years old at the time, went to get a pizza for her husband. When parking on the Marktplein she hits the bicycle carrier of another car. When Elly goes looking for the owner, she ends up with a Polish couple (38 and 42). An argument immediately ensues. Polish and Dutch swear words fly back and forth and middle fingers are also raised.
In court it becomes clear that Elly not only wanted to inform the other party of the damage, but that she was also angry. Her car was damaged by the unfolded bicycle carrier. Elly eventually decides to go home to contact the insurance company. But the Polish couple doesn’t want to just let her go. The woman stands in front of the car and the man stands behind the car.
On the hood
And then it goes quickly. The woman ends up on the hood and her husband opens the car door in an attempt to stop Elly. Elly is shocked and wants to flee. According to her, the man kicks the door and the woman jumps on the hood herself.
Elly drives away in panic with the wheels spinning and the woman on her back and the man hanging from the car. After 128 meters, Elly rams a pole, the woman flies into a garden and hits a flagpole. Elly then drives over the woman. The woman died seven hours later in the hospital.
Elly says she never saw the woman on the hood. She still remembers the argument, but not the crazy ride. She said she was in fear and sheer panic. According to Elly’s husband and a psychologist, Elly has a short fuse and can quickly start swearing.
No intention
The public prosecutor previously believed that Elly was afraid, but she thought she could have changed her mind at different times. However, she made the choice to drive away and also accelerate to about fifty kilometers per hour with two people in and around her car. She should have known that this could have fatal consequences.
There was no intent, the court ruled. “But there was a real chance of falling and dying. You consciously took that chance.” That is why the court sees it as an attempted manslaughter on the Polish man and manslaughter on the Polish woman. The judge blames Elly for allowing a very dangerous situation to continue. “It was only when you caused a collision that you came to a stop.”
Elly entered the court nervously, yet she indicated before the verdict that she was certain of her innocence. The 3.5 year prison sentence seemed to come as a shock to her, especially because she now has to go back to prison immediately. After an embrace with her husband and a lot of tears, she was taken away by the police immediately after the verdict.
Reconstruction of the deadly traffic dispute:
Tags: Argument damage bodywork ends fatally woman spend year jail
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