As if by a miracle, two friends survived a head-on collision on the Antwerpseweg in Roosendaal last year. Moments before, they had hit the wrong side of the road and drove into the car of a man from Essen, Belgium. Nothing was left of the car the girls were in. In the wreckage, the police found three cylinders of laughing gas and balloons.
The judges navigated between two extremes in the court in Breda on Thursday morning. On the one hand, 23-year-old Laura never intended to cause an accident in which her friend was seriously injured. But on the other hand, she had already meandered for miles on the provincial road, drove over a double continuous line on an oncoming vehicle and the car was full of nitrous oxide cylinders and (used) balloons.
Both women were in their pajamas in the car about eight o’clock that evening. Laura later wanted to change to go to carnival and the girlfriend wanted to sleep over because of an argument at home.
“I remember going to get my girlfriend and then being in the hospital, Laura told the judges. “But what happened in between, I have no idea. My girlfriend used laughing gas in the car, I know about her, but I don’t do that.”
Undeterminable
Laura had no alcohol or drugs in her blood, a test showed. The use of nitrous oxide cannot be determined, which is why the public prosecutor dropped the charge. “I think I was shocked by something,” Laura suspects. “I have often had people in the car who were using laughing gas. If a balloon pops or they start screaming, you are very distracted.”
Two people who drove behind Laura saw that she had been meandering for a long time on the Antwerpseweg in the direction of Roosendaal. Things went wrong at the Doelstraat. The then 57-year-old driver of the other car suddenly saw two headlights in front of him. He managed to save himself by a tug on his steering wheel and got away well with relatively minor injuries to his chest and knee.
Laura suffered a shattered knee herself, but her friend was much worse off. He had damage to lungs, liver and a kidney. In addition, her hands and hip were broken and her upper arm shattered. She had to go to a rehabilitation center for three weeks after multiple operations.
Reckless driving
If it is up to the judiciary, 23-year-old Laura will receive the maximum community service sentence of 240 hours for reckless driving and will not be allowed to drive a car for two years. “Whatever happens in the car, as a driver you are always responsible,” the officer told her. Laura’s lawyer pleaded for an acquittal. The accident would have been caused by the girlfriend’s behavior, he argued.
Laura’s girlfriend has now fully recovered from her serious injuries. Laura herself still has problems with her knee.
The driver from Essen did not want any contact with the girls after the accident, but his wife previously informed Omroep Brabant that she sympathizes with them. “Of course, they were acting irresponsibly. But that one second may determine the rest of their lives. While they certainly didn’t get into that car with the idea of causing an accident.”
Sir is not spiteful, the judge knew. “And it all ended well for you and your girlfriend. You had an angel on your shoulder, because when you see that wreck, it’s a miracle that you crawled out alive.”
The verdict is on April 26.
READ ALSO: Belgian (57) shocked by reactions after collision: ‘Too expensive lesson for those girls