The court will rule today in the case of the fatal accident at an unguarded level crossing near Hooghalen. On May 22, 2020, a train driver from Hardenberg was killed. Two weeks ago, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) demanded 180 hours of community service and a one-year suspended driving ban against a man from Smilde.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the accident was caused by considerable inattention. The Smildeger crossed the track with a tractor, with a trailer with ten tons of rubble behind him. The approaching train still sounded its horn, but a collision was inevitable. The trailer was dragged hundreds of meters by the train. The train driver did not survive the impact.
The tractor driver called a family member shortly before crossing the road. The man previously told the judge that he did not have his phone to his ear at the time of the accident. The device lay next to him. He communicated through earphones, which he wore. “But it was not the time to call,” said the public prosecutor, who did not have sufficient evidence that the man from Smilde had the device to his ear.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, this does not alter the fact that the man did not sufficiently anticipate the situation at that time. “He just gambled and just crossed the road and that is not allowed by law, certainly not with road users with heavy equipment,” the public prosecutor said two weeks ago. Experts concluded that visibility may have been obstructed by drizzle, bushes and concrete posts.
For the prosecutor, this situation was a reason to be extra careful while crossing the road. The tractor did not stop before the transition, but made more progress. That had to do with a slope, on which the tractor would otherwise get stuck, the driver said.
After this accident, six locations, including the ‘Boerenpad’ level crossing at Hooghalen, were classified as so dangerous that they had to be closed as soon as possible. Within a year of the accident, two crossings at Hooghalen were closed by ProRail.