A 21-year-old man from Zwartemeer caused a traffic accident on the Splitting in Emmen due to reckless driving. He deliberately pulled the handbrake, causing the car to skid against a tree. That’s what the judge thinks. “A traffic offense involving the most serious form of guilt.”
The man will be sentenced to 200 hours of community service for this, as was also demanded by the Public Prosecution Service (OM) two weeks ago. The court finds the case more serious and also imposes a suspended prison sentence of two months on the reckless driver. He will also be banned from driving for two years, eight months of which will be conditional. The latter is also the same as the requirement of the Public Prosecution Service.
In September 2021, the twenty-something had only just obtained his driver’s license when he went to get fries for his colleagues. He borrowed a car and went to a chip shop with another colleague. On the way, the men saw a girl running. According to witnesses, there was honking, waving and the car hit a skid due to a braking movement.
The car came to a stop against a tree. The co-driver suffered a broken vertebrae, collapsed lung and a shattered foot. The driver suffered minor injuries. During the police investigation it turned out that the handbrake had been applied. There was also speeding, in any case 19 kilometers faster than allowed. And presumably more.
De Zwartemeerder denies this to this day. He made varying statements to the police and to the judge. During the court session he suddenly said that the co-driver would have pulled the handbrake. According to the judge, his statements are not supported anywhere. “He pulled the handbrake without any need,” said the judge.
Participating in traffic in this way is considered ‘extremely reprehensible’ by the court. The young driver has previously been penalized for driving without a valid driver’s license and speeding. “He does not take the traffic rules very seriously. He endangers himself, but also others,” said the judge.