Wesley van Rijt was only 19 when he died last Saturday. A trip to his first driving lesson to be allowed to drive with a trailer behind the truck was fatal. He drove into a tree on Bakelseweg early in the morning and died on the spot.
Wesley’s friends are all defeated and full of grief. Best friend Bart had known Wesley for at least ten years. “My father texted me on Saturday and when I called him, I got the bad news: ‘Wesley is gone’. When I turned around there were two friends standing there and they just nodded.”
Bart can’t get over the fact that his best friend died in the accident. “He was on his way to his first driving lesson to be allowed to drive a trailer and just got a new BMW. He was a truck driver and that was his passion and his life. He was always on the truck. He had his heart in the right place and was a hard worker.”
Just like Wesley, Wesley’s friends all worked as volunteers for the IJsfestijn in Deurne, the annual skating rink. “All young boys with whom we make this ice cream festival possible every year. Everyone is devastated by the bad news about Wesley. And now everyone is there for each other.”
In addition to his parents, Wesley had a brother and a sister. His family and friends immediately took action after the fatal collision, because they think Wesley should get an honorable trucker’s funeral. The funeral is on Saturday and the intention is to form an honorary hague of trucks at the crematorium in Venray. “I hope there will be about 150 to 200 trucks,” says Bart.
To encourage Wesley’s parents and to ease their concerns, Bart and Kathleen, a colleague of Wesley, are a crowdfunding started for an urn and possibly a piece of jewelry. “And if there is any money left over, it will go to Noah4All, a foundation that makes a last wish possible for people from the transport world.”