“Caillou was full of life, ready to make his dreams come true. I would do everything I could to hear his voice again, but unfortunately that is no longer possible.” The mother of the deceased Caillou spoke those words in court in Den Bosch on Tuesday. Her son was kicked by a drunk driver on a Friday night in September and did not survive the blow.
The 21-year-old driver was in court on Tuesday. He drove in the night of 3 to 4 September with an emergency speed from Deurne to Eindhoven after a night of walking. On the Noord Brabantlaan in Eindhoven, where 50 km per hour is allowed, the man drove almost twice as high. At that moment, the nineteen-year-old boy cycled through a red light and was kicked. He ended up in hospital and died a week later.
With his back straight and his arms folded on the table, somewhat indifferent, suspect Amar D. listened to the facts. He knew Caillou but how exactly could the accident happen? He claimed to know little more about it. According to the suspect, that was due to a concussion that he would have suffered in the accident.
An investigation revealed that the man was using his phone shortly before the accident, but the suspect could not remember that. He also drove under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, but D. insisted that he had only drunk earlier in the evening. And instead of braking, he accelerated the moment he almost scooped the cyclist. But D. didn’t remember that either when the judge asked about it.
“We never had a token of appreciation. As if Caillou’s life was worth nothing.”
“Every morning I wake up shaking and panicking,” Caillou’s mother says. “Every night I relive this nightmare. The moment the police knocked on the door and how we found him. It’s so unreal and difficult.”
At these words, Amar D. had to swallow a few times. The suspect turned to the family to say he was sorry. The mother finds it extra painful that she never heard from the suspect after the accident. “As if Caillou’s life was worth nothing.” According to D., this was ‘miscommunication.’ The police, in their own words, had advised him not to contact him, because the family would need rest.
The public prosecutor demanded twelve months in prison, three of which were suspended, because of the young age of the suspect and his clean criminal record. D. also has to hand in his driver’s license for three years if it is up to the Public Prosecution Service.
The judge will rule on November 22.
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