The suspect Erwin K., who is held responsible for a fatal accident on October 13, 2021, has to go to prison for three years, one of which is conditional. That is what the Public Prosecution Service demands. 28-year-old Charmaine from Wormer died in the crash. The emotions of the relatives were screaming today through a packed courtroom in Haarlem.
His girlfriend still tries to dissuade him, but Erwin K. nevertheless gets behind the wheel on October 13, 2021. He has been drinking, but the car still has to be used for work the next morning, he told the court today. It turns out to be a fatal decision.
The suspect enters from the road in Marken and drives for about three kilometers at a very high speed, which rises to more than 170 kilometers per hour. Things go horribly wrong on the N246 near Wormerveer. He claps full on the back of the car of the woman from Wormer, who has just left her football training at CVV Blauw-Wit. She ends up on the wrong side of the road and rams into an oncoming delivery van.
The havoc that follows is enormous, even a fire breaks out. Charmaine dies shortly after the blow. The victim in the van and suspect K. escaped miraculously without major injuries. “It is a miracle that you are still here,” the judge said to the suspect today.
At the hearing it becomes clear that K. has drunk quite too much. A blood sample taken after the accident showed a value of 0.94 promille. That is almost twice as much as is allowed. Based on the findings of experts, the public prosecutor says that it must have been between 1.34 and 1.94 promille at the time of the accident. The blood test was done more than four hours after the accident.
Many relatives and friends are present today. An extra room with a video connection must even be arranged to allow everyone to watch. The emotions that are present on the surface all the time regularly come out in fierce bursts. The judge has to ask for silence in the audience several times. When it becomes clear how fast the suspect has driven, Charmaine’s crying mother can no longer stand it and runs out of the hall.
Relatives speak
She returns a little later and is allowed to use the right to speak for next of kin through a family member. She describes in a heartbreaking account how she sends a text earlier in the evening: “Are you coming home early tonight? You have to work tomorrow.”
She gets no response. In the evening the police are at the door. “My whole life came crashing down. I couldn’t stop crying.” To the suspect: “You were speeding and reckless. Because of you my dear daughter is dead.” K. bows his head. The victim in the van also speaks. The end of his story: “As far as I’m concerned, you’re going to walk for the rest of your life.”
Penalty requirement
The public prosecutor indicates that he found it very difficult to arrive at a sentence. Erwin K. has never come into contact with the law before, he regrets and will have to bear with him all his life that he is guilty of the death of a young woman. Still, she calls it “a deliberate choice to drive so crazy fast.” She is seeking three years in prison, one year suspended, with a two-year probationary period. In addition, as far as the public prosecutor is concerned, he is not allowed to get behind the wheel for four years.
Lawyer Willem van Vliet assists K., as far as he is concerned, the sentence is too high. He points to other cases in which lighter sentences were imposed, but according to the public prosecutor, the cases he comes up with cannot be compared. Van Vliet points out that the suspect has wanted to cooperate from the start: “We have done nothing to delay this case.” It is met with scorn in the public gallery.
In two weeks it will become clear what the judge thinks about the case, then she will make a decision.