A community service order of 240 hours has been demanded against a 21-year-old man from Poland for causing a fatal accident on the N375 near Ruinen. In addition, the man should receive a one-year driving ban, according to the public prosecutor.
The twenties drove on July 10 last year on the Defense Road near Ruinen. Two compatriots were in the car with him. One of them navigated. They had gone wrong. The driver had just had his driver’s license for two months and had little driving experience. They drove towards the Provincial road and failed to notice the signs warning them that the road is a dead end and approaching a priority road.
Without braking, they drove onto the N375 and collided with the car of an elderly couple from Beilen. The 83-year-old driver and his 64-year-old wife were seriously injured. The couple ended up in two different hospitals. The man died of his injuries shortly afterwards. The woman appeared in court. They were on their way that afternoon to make arrangements for their 40th wedding anniversary, which was coming up.
“I didn’t speak to my husband after the blow. A few days later I was suddenly a widow. After 42 years together you suddenly find yourself alone,” the woman said in her victim statement. “This says something about the sadness of the case,” said the judge. The young Pole understood the woman’s grief, he told the judge.
This accident happened due to the suspect’s inattentive and careless driving, the prosecutor said. The twenty-something did not pay attention to the traffic signs and did not adapt his speed to the changing situation. This makes him significantly guilty of this accident. The Pole has not been convicted before. He lives with his parents, but took the trouble to appear in Assen.
The court will rule in two weeks.