A man (50) from Weener, Germany, is not responsible for the collision in the Roldertunnel in Assen, in which a man in a wheelchair and a walker were injured in December 2019.
The court in Assen acquitted him on Thursday of attempted aggravated assault. However, the German was convicted of, among other things, dangerous driving and attacking an Assen resident with a crowbar. The court gives him 360 days in prison, of which 273 days are conditional and a community service of 240 hours. He also has to hand in his driver’s license for six months.
Two weeks ago, the Public Prosecution Service demanded 28 months in prison and a one-year driving ban against him. On December 27, 2019, he was hot on the heels of a motorist from Assen with his car. A conflict between the two families after a breakup escalated that day.
It ended in a kind of wild west pursuit, in which the German pushed the man from Assen he was chasing onto the bike path in the Rolder tunnel, according to the OM. It is shielded from the road by a fence. The Assenaar was unable to move in any direction during the chase and braking was not an option, according to him. As a result, he hit an oncoming partially paralyzed man in an electric wheelchair. It then collided with the pedestrian. Both were injured and taken to hospital.
‘No willless tool’
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the German had pushed, rammed and chased the Assenaar, making him responsible for the accident. But according to the court, it has not been proven that the German forced him to use the bike path in this way. The Assenaar may have let himself be rushed, but according to the court he could have braked to prevent the accident.
The Assenaar’s car was not used “as a weak-willed tool”, as the Public Prosecution Service states, the court finds. “In the opinion of the court, the part of the Assenaar in the collision is being ignored. The court is therefore surprised that only the 50-year-old man from Weener is held responsible by the Public Prosecution Service for the collision.”
In broad daylight
At the Harry Muskee roundabout near the tunnel, both cars collided. The men got out and the German attacked the Asser motorist with a crowbar, breaking his arm. The court sees this as attempted murder. The German also hit the victim’s head. This could have been fatal had the man not fended off. The court ruled that he is entitled to 2500 euros in damages.
After the crowbar incident, the German, together with his 72-year-old father from Arnhem, attacked a relative of the victim. He also received several blows. The court strongly resents the fact that both men were so aggressive in broad daylight in front of many witnesses.
No more jail
The German’s elderly father has been sentenced to 57 days in prison, equivalent to his pre-trial detention. Because the case is more than three years old and the man has never been in contact with the law, the court believes that he has been punished enough.
His son also no longer has to go to jail. The German has already served the unconditional part of his prison sentence in pre-trial detention.