Taking a car for a test drive with her husband in Breda went horribly wrong in the summer of 2022. During that test ride, a now 63-year-old woman from Berkel-Enschot hit a 90-year-old cyclist, who later died in hospital. The court in Breda sentenced her to 60 hours of community service. She is also not allowed to drive for a year if she makes the mistake again.
Total panic, that beautiful sunny July 29, 2022 on the Ulvenhoutselaan in Breda. A man had just put the Renault Captur, which his wife was allowed to try out, in a parking space so she could drive too. They switched sides and when the woman wanted to start driving, things immediately went wrong.
‘Where’s that brake?’
The car suddenly started moving onto the cycle path and the woman did not understand what was happening. “I was surprised, the car should not have started driving yet,” she told the judges two weeks ago. The car bumped onto the cycle path and accelerated. The woman panicked and shouted, “Where is that brake?” Witnesses saw the woman frozen, panicked and with her arms outstretched behind the wheel.
The woman saw a car coming towards her and turned left onto the cycle path, where a 90-year-old cyclist was riding at the time. It landed hard on the windshield of the car, after which the car continued to drive for another 200 meters before finally coming to a stop on the other side of the road.
The woman told police immediately after the accident that she had pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. Witnesses stated that too. Her wrong action turned out to be fatal for the very elderly cyclist. He died in a hospital a day after the accident.
The woman could not remember everything about the accident in court. “I was nervous about driving a new car,” she said. And maybe she should have gone for a test drive in a quieter place, she acknowledged. “I used to drive my husband’s automatic, but everything is different in a new car. I couldn’t even find the handbrake. I don’t even remember how I finally stopped.”
Justice ‘had’ to demand punishment
The public prosecutor saw the sadness of all parties, but still had to formulate a punishment, he said: “The lady did not get up in the morning with the idea of killing someone, but she did make mistakes by using the wrong pedal. to keep pressing it and keep riding on the cycle path and not into a garden, for example.”
A community service order of 60 hours was required and a six-month driving ban was imposed. As a stick behind the door, another six months was demanded if she makes another mistake.
The police immediately opened an investigation after the accident: