The long-awaited criminal case against two companies and two executives held responsible for the production and sale of the Stint will start in the Den Bosch court on Tuesday. The electric handcart was involved in a fatal accident on the railway in Oss on September 20, 2018. Four young children were killed: Dana (8), Liva (4), Fleur (6) and Kris (4). 11-year-old Indy and the Stint’s supervisor were seriously injured.
It was Thursday, September 20, 2018. At ten to half past eight in the morning, five young children were taken to the Korenaer primary school in Oss by a teacher from Okido day care center. But things went wrong at the guarded railway crossing near Oss-West station.
The sprinter from Den Bosch to Nijmegen collided with the electric cargo bike. How exactly the accident could happen will never be clear. Bystanders heard the driver of the Stint shouting something about a technical defect just before the accident. There was no way she could brake as she approached the railroad crossing. To this day, no one knows how that happened.
No technical defect, malfunction or human error
Around nine o’clock that morning the news came out that four children, Dana (8), Fleur (6), Kris (4) and Liva (4), had not survived the accident. Indy, who was 11 years old at the time, Dana and Liva’s older sister and the driver (32) were seriously injured. After the accident, Ossen residents, but also people from outside the city, came to the railway. They brought flowers, letters and cuddly toys.
Months after the railway tragedy, research by the Public Prosecution Service (OM) and the police shows that there was no technical defect, malfunction or human error.
However, research by the Dutch Safety Board made it clear that the Stint did not meet the safety requirements in 2011. The electric cargo bike would have had too long a braking distance and should therefore never have been allowed on the road.
Criminal case against the companies behind the Stint
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) decided to prosecute two companies and two executives in 2023. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the Stint did not have a proper brake construction, no brake switch, no start-up protection, no presence detection and a throttle that did not work properly.
The two managers would have known about the defects, but they kept this quiet. The suspects are also being prosecuted for forgery.
Actually, the trial would have already taken place in March. But it was then postponed. The reason was that the defense had submitted four new reports. This included technical investigations. The Public Prosecution Service wanted to review and investigate those reports further.
The verdict is next year
On Tuesday, more than seven years after the accident, the lawsuit against the companies that supplied the Stint will start. Six hearing days are planned at the court in Den Bosch. There are many technical details to be discussed.
The sentence is expected next week. The court will probably not rule until next year.