A 21-year-old man from Meppel has been sentenced to one year in prison, half of which is conditional, for causing a fatal accident in Hoogeveen. He was also sentenced to 180 hours of community service. The man was banned from driving for three years.
The sentence is lower than the previously demanded prison sentence of three years and a driving ban of four years. The Public Prosecution Service finds reckless driving proven, the most serious form of guilt. The court thought that was just a step too far and convicted the man for very careless driving. The personal circumstances of the Meppeler have been taken into account more.
The accident on the night of May 18 to 19, 2024 was dramatic. The Meppeler drove under the influence, much too fast on the Stuifzandseweg. In a left bend the vehicle left the road and shot across a cycle path. The car crashed into a lamppost and ended up in a ditch. Due to the high speed, the car broke through a fence and ended up in a meadow.
An iron pole from the fence shot through the windshield and hit the 18-year-old co-driver. He died on the spot from severe blood loss. “I killed my buddy,” the Meppel man shouted when the emergency services arrived. The man then refused a blood test. As a result, it could not be determined how much alcohol or other substances he had used. According to the judge, it has also not been established at what speed the man drove.
The judge called the suspect’s driving behavior reprehensible. “Irresponsible, the consequences are irreversible,” the judge said. The impact on the surviving relatives is significant. “They have to continue living without their son and brother.” In addition, according to the court, the punishment must be proportionate to the degree of guilt of the suspect and not solely to the consequences of the accident. “Even if the relatives see this differently,” the judge said.
In a reduced sentence, the judge finds that the suspect must also continue to live with the fact that a friend died as a result of his actions. According to the judge, it does not seem to have been unusual in his group of friends to get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol. The suspect says he has distanced himself from this.