Man gets more than 3.5 years in prison for fatal collision with cyclists in Oudkarspel | Domestic

The court in Alkmaar also imposed a five-year driving ban on thirty-year-old V. on Thursday. According to the judge, there was no intent, but he did drive “very carelessly and inattentive”.

The accident happened on the afternoon of December 12, 2021 in the North Holland village of Oudkarspel. During an overtaking maneuver, V. hit a group of eight cyclists. One of them, a twenty-year-old man, died six days later from his injuries. The driver continued driving after the accident, but was traced because he had lost a license plate.

According to the judge, V. is guilty of four criminal offenses: causing a traffic accident resulting in death or serious injury, dangerous driving, driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.

Investigation showed that V. must have drunk at least ten glasses of alcohol. The driver hit the cyclists less than a kilometer from the cafe where he had been sitting. Like the victims, he had watched the Formula 1 race where Max Verstappen had become world champion for the first time. After the race he decided to drive away with his nephew in the passenger seat.

At an earlier hearing, V. said he regretted getting behind the wheel while drunk. “I should have walked home,” he admitted. He later called the drive-through “scandalous”.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) had demanded a five-year prison sentence and a six-year driving ban against him.