The boy from Drachten (21) who hit an oncoming car last year during a competition at a scooter meeting in Groningen, has been given a heavier prison sentence by the court than demanded.
The judges in Groningen speak of ‘annoying facts that cannot be tolerated’. While the Public Prosecution Service demanded that the boy from Drachten receive a 5-month prison sentence and surrender his driving license for 3 years, the court imposed an 8-month prison sentence.
A heavier sentence is imposed because the court finds that the boy was driving ‘recklessly’ just before the accident last summer. During a competition on the Aalborgweg, the Frisian crashed head-on with a heavily souped-up scooter into an oncoming car, a 16-year-old driver. Images of the blow went viral.
The accident left the victim with a complicated leg fracture. After several operations he still suffers from it and it remains to be seen whether he will fully recover.
Recklessness is the most serious form of fault a court can determine when it comes to traffic accidents. Two weeks ago, the justice department opted for a milder form, but the judges put that aside. They judge that the boy was taking part in a competition on public roads just before the collision. “He did not keep sufficiently to the right and overtook other participants without looking carefully, even though he knew that at these meetings people drive criss-cross each other.”
‘He tried to avoid responsibility’
It is not only his traffic behavior that contributes to a heavier sentence. The court also blames him for the fact that he left immediately after the accident. The boy from Drachten himself picked up the debris of his damaged scooter from the road, while friends hid the two-wheeler in a cart under a rug. Officers stopped the boy on his way home. “He tried to avoid his responsibility,” the court said.
In addition, the boy still does not have a driver’s license and was picked from a scooter by the police both before and after the accident. This means that the court does not sentence him under juvenile criminal law, as his lawyer requested two weeks ago. According to the court, it is clear that “this boy does not benefit from a pedagogical approach.” In other words: punishment is the motto.
‘Come get me’
He must serve 5 of the 8 months in prison and 3 will remain hanging over his head after he is released. He will also be banned from driving for 3 years, which will only take effect after he has actually obtained his driver’s license. Because he was also driving without insurance – his license plate only said ‘Get me then’ – he also received a fine of 500 euros.