Community service for man who caused accident that claimed the life of 1-year-old child

In association with

Rijnmond

NOS News•today, 11:10 PM

A 49-year-old man from The Hague receives 180 hours of community service for causing a fatal accident on the A16 near Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht at the end of 2020. A 1-year-old boy was killed in the accident.

On the day in question, the man had bought a van from a car company in North Brabant. On the return journey home, the driver, who was driving in the left lane, suffered an engine failure. Within two minutes the speed dropped from 100 to 6 kilometers per hour.

Instead of steering the car to the emergency lane, the driver called the seller and asked what to do. When the van almost came to a stop, a car carrying fifteen-month-old Joël and his father rear-ended. The child died in hospital from his injuries.

According to the court, the driver of the van had plenty of time to steer three lanes to the right, onto the emergency lane. “In any case, there was still more than a minute and a half available when the suspect’s car had reduced its speed to approximately 40/50 kilometers per hour. It has not been shown that the traffic situation did not allow the suspect to drive to the emergency lane,” it says. verdict, quoted by the regional broadcaster Rijnmond.

The Public Prosecution Service had demanded a prison sentence of six months. In the ruling, the judge took into account that the man could not have known that his newly purchased vehicle was not in order. “He had bought the car for almost 5,000 euros and he had received an MOT inspection report when he bought the car. He therefore assumed that he had purchased a sound vehicle,” the judge said.

A re-inspection revealed that the van should have been rejected on fourteen points and should never have been allowed on the road. Yet the judge acquits the judge. According to the court, it has not been established that the poor inspection was the cause of the car coming to a standstill. The judge also finds that there is no evidence of an intentionally poor inspection. The woman who sold the van will appear in court later.

The driver said during the substantive hearing two weeks ago that he had no choice but to continue driving where he was driving. “The engine stopped. I went into shock and I couldn’t do anything. The steering wheel locked and I couldn’t get to the emergency lane.” According to him, the police report is incorrect and the engine stopped just a few seconds before the accident.

The judge did not agree with that. He imposed 180 hours of community service on the driver, a suspended prison sentence of three months and a driving ban of one year.