According to the lawyers of the two Stint directors, the fatal accident in Oss was the result of human error and not a technical defect. On day five of the trial they call it a fatal accident and blame the Public Prosecution Service for tunnel vision.
At the beginning of her plea, Carry Knoops reflected on the grief of the relatives after the accident with the Stint. “Losing a child is the worst thing. It’s survival,” she said. According to her, the fact that her clients dispute the criminal offenses does not mean that they do not feel empathy. “They are also defeated and carry this with them every day.”
According to Knoops, the directors wanted to contact the relatives after the accident, but this was stopped by the police. “It is a misrepresentation that they would not have had any compassion.”
“It was human action.”
In terms of content, Knoops stated that extensive research by the Dutch Forensic Institute shows that a technical defect in the Stint can be ruled out. “The Stint did not run amok, that was not technically possible,” she said. According to her, the brakes worked and no malfunctions or mechanical defects were found.
According to Knoops, two scenarios remain. “Either the driver braked too late, or she accidentally accelerated.” According to her, both scenarios point to human action. “That is different from a criminal accusation against the directors.” She emphasized that in seven years there were only 44 reports that were not service calls. “That does not justify the image of an unsafe vehicle.”
“It’s tunnel vision.”
The lawyer accuses the Public Prosecution Service of tunnel vision. “It must have been the Stint, and that is tunnel vision,” said Knoops. She placed the matter in a broader perspective by pointing out other fatal accidents involving bicycles and mopeds. “Will the manufacturers be prosecuted? No.”
The plea follows the punishment demand from the Public Prosecution Service, which demanded five years and four months in prison against producer Edwin Renzen and designer Peter Noorlander. According to Knoops, this requirement is unjustified. “This is a tragic accident, not a crime.”
Here you can read all the stories about the accident with the Stint in Oss.