The man who allegedly caused an accident on the A59 near Sprang-Capelle, in which a family died, drove about 250 kilometers per hour. The accident happened last March, a father, mother and two children from Raamsdonksveer did not survive. 33-year-old Thomas de G. from Zevenbergschen Hoek hit the back of the car in which the four family members were sitting with his car.
The man was filming his speedometer and therefore did not have both hands on the wheel. Meanwhile he drove faster and faster. The public prosecutor announced this on Wednesday at the start of the first court hearing in Breda.
The suspect has not come to court. “It is psychologically too hard for him, especially because the press is present,” explains his lawyer. “In addition, there was a personality test in prison this morning.” The judge insists that Thomas de G. is present during the substantive treatment of the case: “Otherwise we will ensure that he comes here.”
On the way home
A ten-year-old girl, her thirteen-year-old brother and their 46-year-old parents from Raamsdonksveer died in the accident. They were on their way home that night. The accident happened on March 10 this year, around a quarter past nine in the evening. Another two cars and a truck were involved. It is not yet clear how exactly it could go so wrong.
The man from Zevenbergschen Hoek is suspected of manslaughter. Earlier it had already become known that he had driven too fast and that he had probably drunk too much. “He has indeed committed criminal offenses,” says De G.’s lawyer. “But my client also had a blackout during the entire ride.” The public prosecutor does not believe that at all: “Then he could not have made a film.”
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) believes that the man drove in such a way that there is ‘conditional intent’: there was no intent, but the suspect deliberately took the risk by driving under the influence. He also did not pay attention to the traffic in front of him while driving and did not adjust his speed. “He accelerated until a second before the accident. He didn’t react in time because he was busy with other things.”
‘Unsalvageable’
After the collision, the car in which the family from Raamsdonksveer was sitting hit the crash barriers and the car caught fire. According to bystanders, the four occupants could not be saved because the doors of the car were locked.
An acquaintance of Thomas de G. later told Omroep Brabant that the suspect drove his car into the back of the family’s car when it started to spin. “He saw a family burn before his very eyes. He wanted to help, but he couldn’t because he couldn’t open the doors,” the woman said. In the end, De G. left while the car was still on fire. He was arrested just under two weeks after the accident and has been in prison ever since. fixed.
The Public Prosecution Service does not have a good word for Thomas de G.: “It is total indifference on the part of Mr. We have found thirteen videos from the past two years on his phone in which he commits traffic violations. He really does not care.”
Additional research
The Public Prosecution Service needs a maximum of two months to complete the entire investigation. For example, the Seat, the suspect’s car, is first read out. This makes it clear how fast Thomas drove exactly and whether he braked in the last seconds.
Thomas de G. remains detained pending trial. A prison sentence of more than 12 years hangs over the head of the suspect. The case will continue in more than two months.
The devastation after the accident was great.