An American soldier has been convicted of driving a cyclist in Eindhoven. In May 2023, the soldier did not give priority and rode the woman by bike. The military court blames her ‘death due to guilt’. Her punishment stays with a fine, because the man of the cyclist tried to kill the soldier after the accident.
That reports the Telegraph Tuesday based on the American military medium Stars and Stripes. The soldier, a 24-year-old pilot who serves in Belgium, argued guilty in summary proceedings. She is reprimand and has to pay 2600 dollars. The prosecutors also wanted her military rank to be lowered, but according to the judge the woman has already been punished enough by the attack committed on her life.
No priority
It went wrong on May 14, 2023. The soldier stated in court that she was driving in Eindhoven to attend a Roller Derby competition, a kind of rugby on roller skates (without ball), when she did not brake at a priority sign. She collided with a cyclist. That woman, an Iranian immigrant, died a day later in the hospital.
Revenge
The man of the cyclist took revenge after the accident. He stalked the pilot for months. In February he tried to avenge his deceased wife. He attacked the soldier and stuck her more than a hundred times with a kitchen knife. The man would also have strangled and beaten her for a few minutes. Two months later the man committed suicide.
The soldier was seriously injured in her hands and face due to the attack. In the court she said that she is suffering from PTSD, anxiety disorders and depression due to the attack. She has left dozens of scars from the attack. “I greatly regret the tragic loss,” she said. “This tragic accident has changed my entire life in all respects.”
Fled for better life
The son of the deceased cyclist was also present in the court. He said that the woman had fled from Iran for a better life in the Netherlands about thirty years ago, at the age of 29. “My mother was an incredibly friendly, selfless and courageous woman,” said the son. He also said that his father could not tolerate the loss of her. “I lost both my parents in less than a year by a single moment of negligence.”