Gerrit (54) ended in a wheelchair through ‘most famous pirate of Flanders’, but his death is now drawing through the trieve: “No punishment for him, all the consequences for us”

While the East Flanders Temse and the Antwerp Sint-Amands are preparing for a tribute to Winnetou Truyts (63), the deceased local folklore hero, the family of Gerrit Verbeeck (54) lives from Mariekerke in Antwerp in the shadow of that loss. Gerrit, who now lives in a rehabilitation center, became paralyzed after Winnetou hit him at the end of last year and committed a fleeing crime. With the death of Winnetou, the criminal proceedings immediately come to an end, and the chance for his family to give the whole story a final piece. “We have all the respect for the sorrow of his loved ones, but … for us it feels bitter.”

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