Did the truck driver have an epileptic attack? And other questions about the fatal accident in the south side

On Tuesday, the case against the Spanish truck driver Juan S. (48) will start on Tuesday. He rode on 27 August 2022 in the neighborhood of the south side of the village of Nieuw-Beijerland of a dike and ended up at a neighborhood barbecue. Six adults and an unborn baby died; Seven others were seriously injured.

1 How could the accident happen?

That will be the most important question during the session. The Public Prosecution Service states that the truck driver had an epilepsy attack, which was partly caused by cocaine use. The OM wants to prosecute him for causing a traffic accident with fatal injury or serious injury due to guilt. The driver had not been allowed to control that truck because he has been suffering from epilepsy since he was ten and then driving on a truck is not allowed. In addition, he used cocaine in the 48 hours before the accident and had not taken his medication against epilepsy according to prescription.

2 What do the driver and his lawyer say?

The driver also thinks that he had an epileptic attack, although he cannot remember anything of the accident, he said earlier in the Spanish press. He said nothing about any substance use.

The driver of the driver, Sabine ten Doesschate, said during an earlier non-substantive session that she understands that the OM believes that an epileptic seizure caused the accident. It would explain why he drove the slope without reason, after he had first stopped the vehicle at the top of the dike.

The OM states that the driver had an epilepsy attack that was partly caused by cocaine

Yet Ten Doesschate is not convinced that the epileptic attack caused the driver to cause the accident. She asked the court to investigate other causes. Could it also be that S. had to divert for a delivery van? After all, witnesses had declared a delivery van. And was the route he had to drive because of a detour may be unsafe because of narrow roads and poorly indicated?

The court agreed three months ago with Ten Doesschate’s request to hear the neurologist who acted as a witness expert in more detail, about whether cocaine can generate an epileptic attack.

3 Where is the suspect now?

Juan S. was not present at earlier pro forma stays. He has received permission to await the substantive treatment in Spain. He can’t drive. Three months ago he asked the court to cancel that condition so that he could return to work: not to work as a driver again, but for commuting. The court did not honor that request.

The suspect is most likely to attend the substantive session, because that was one of the conditions to leave for Spain.

4 Do relatives and other victims speak in the courtroom?

Survivors and seriously injured victims are given the opportunity to tell about the consequences of the accident on the third session day. So Gitta Ammerlaan tell About the loss of her daughter and son -in -law. Local residents and other attendees at the neighborhood party have no right to speak.

5 Can the traffic situation play a role in the accident in the south side?

That is unclear. The fact is that many residents of the Hoeksche Waard are concerned about heavy freight traffic. Cees Pijl, for example, has been arguing at the municipality for improvement for years of the traffic situation. As long as trucks drive over the A29, which crosses the island of Rotterdam on the north to the south side towards Bergen op Zoom or Zeeland, there is little going on. And the provincial road N217-that runs from Oost at ‘s-Gravendeel to Nieuw-Beijerland in the West-does not cause any problems.

But apart from those larger roads, it is difficult for truck drivers to maneuver. Sometimes they have to drive over narrow roads to reach their destination. It also happens that they get lost. The driver who ended up with his truck on the neighborhood barbecue was also lost. Cees Pijl showed him the road shortly before the accident with road map in hand.

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