IzegemIn the night from Saturday to Sunday, an unknown person drove the almost 4-year-old Fiat Panda of Philippe Rommens from Izegem to damnation. “Four minutes before, I had parked my car there,” says the 62-year-old man. “For the same money, I was dead.” Philippe takes seriously the fact that the driver committed a hit-and-run. “He or she must have been injured though.”
Just after 00.30 on Sunday morning, Philippe Rommens parked his Fiat Panda where it is almost always parked: in the front of the parking strip on the corner of Nederweg and Kruisstraat in Izegem, at the well-known butcher’s shop ‘t Worstje. “I went upstairs to my flat, put my keys aside and sat down on the couch. Barely a few minutes later, there was that terrible blow. ‘My car’, it flashed through my mind, knowing that an accident has happened here before at the intersection.”
No slowing down
Like some local residents, Philippe rushed outside. “My car had swung back more than a meter and was standing with the right rear wheel on the footpath”, Philippe tells the story. “Debris and glass were everywhere. I was very surprised when I saw that the sheet metal of another door hung from my driver’s door, from the car the driver was driving. It was not to be found in any fields or roads. Images from the security camera of the butcher shop show how the car – a small delivery van of the Citroën Berlingo genre – does not slow down and just drives on, into the Nederweg.”
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Also hit second car
On the spot: a young motorist who saw the accident happen. “She came from Hondstraat and stopped, as it should, before entering the intersection,” says Philippe. “The driver flashed past her, so fast that it was impossible to note the number plate. The accident happened a second later.” The small van first rammed into Philippe Rommens’ Fiat Panda and then grazed another car, which was parked a little further away. That vehicle was also damaged. However, the driver took off like a spear.”
heavy float
“I do not get that. Perhaps he or she had a good reason to flee. Alcohol, or maybe even drugs. Moreover, it is inevitable that the man/woman who was driving was injured. The crash site was full of glass and other debris. I hope the hit and run can be solved quickly. For me, this is a particularly tough one. I am a driver at De Lijn and work in Bruges. I have to do that move by car. Because either there aren’t any trains yet when I have to start, or the last train is long gone before I’ve done it. One bright spot, perhaps: my desperately lost Fiat Panda, which was previously unscratched, is still insured against all risks.”
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Protective Pole
Police took the knocked-off door of the driver for further investigation. “On the basis of this, it will probably soon become clear what type of car it is”, Philippe suspects. “It is a pity that there is no surveillance camera in the area that provides an overview of what is happening at the intersection. People often drive too fast here, especially in the evening and at night. Quite a few motorists have flown out of Stationsstraat, like last night, exactly as if this intersection does not exist. It is a very dangerous situation. That is why I always place my car as far in front as possible in the parking lane. Then it is somewhat protected by a pole standing there, I always thought. But unfortunately I now know better,” concludes the man.
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