The accident happened on December 12, 2021 on the Voorburggracht in Oudkarspel in North Holland. When V. performed an overtaking maneuver, he hit a group of cyclists. Five people were seriously injured. One of them, a 20-year-old man, died in hospital six days later.
Lost license plate
V. continued driving after the accident, but was quickly tracked down because he had lost one of his license plates in the crash. He previously stated to the police that he had been watching Verstappen’s race with a few friends in the pub. Verstappen had become world champion in Abu Dhabi during that race. Afterwards he drove home with his ‘drunk head’, his younger nephew sat next to him.
When he hit something along the way, he was shocked and continued driving, he said. At home he parked his car in the garage and walked the dog with his girlfriend. He didn’t tell her anything.
In court he said that he found the events terrible for the victims and especially for the surviving relatives. “I have no words for it. When I see the impact this has already had on my life, I can only try to imagine how bad this must be for them.”
‘Amnesia’
His lawyer asked the court to appoint a behavioral expert to investigate the man, who, according to his own psychologist, suffers from a form of memory loss. She also wanted to investigate whether her client was fully responsible when he continued driving after the collision. The court denied that request.
The public prosecutor had demanded a five-year prison sentence, a six-year driving ban and a fine of 1,000 euros.
The court writes in its judgment that it realizes ‘that in cases such as these it is impossible to impose a sentence that somewhat meets the feelings of the surviving relatives and the victims’. “No punishment will take away the enormous sadness over the loss of their loved one.”
Major consequences
“However, the court must impose a sentence that is appropriate to the accusation that can be made against the suspect, while not losing sight of the fact that the suspect never wanted the consequences of his (highly culpable) driving behavior and that these are also will have major consequences for him.”
The judge also takes into account in the judgment that V. sold his house there and went to live elsewhere due to the unrest caused by the collision in the village. He also had to (partly) build a new network for his work as a painter. “He is very guilty and is aware that he will have to carry the cause of this accident with him for the rest of his life.”
