Truck driver who caused an accident ultimately speaks to the relatives: « I carry the pain with me every day »

« It touches me deeply that this accident could happen. I didn’t want this but it happened and it’s terrible. »

With these words from the Spanish driver Juan S., a series of four sessions ended around the accident with the truck that rode on a neighborhood barbecue on 27 August 2022 in the neighborhood of Zuidzijde in Nieuw-Beijerland. Six people were killed, including a pregnant woman. In addition, seven people were (seriously) injured.

During the sessions it was mainly about how this serious accident could have happened. Both the Public Prosecution Service and the defense brought in a horizon of testimonies, experts and reports, which had to interpret the cause of the accident and the circumstances under which it happened.

On the last session day the drivers Lawyer Sabine ten Doesschate spoke, who argued for acquittal. She argued that it cannot be determined, so Juan S. van de Dijk drove. A steering error may have been the cause of the accident, after the driver was to get lost through a diversion route and ended up on the narrow dike. She quoted research from which it would show an epileptic seizure not the cause: the driver had inhibited. That would mean that her client had been knowledge during the accident. This issue is important in the case, because the driver should not have been allowed to drive due to his epilepsy, according to the OM.

Juan S. also stated earlier that he had not had an epileptic seizure because he had felt it coming. He also had no muscle pain afterwards and he had that with earlier attacks. He can’t remember anything about the accident itself. Shortly after the accident, he told the police that he thought he had had an attack.

Hidden

The OM, on the other hand, is based on an epileptic attack. The officer said earlier that Juan S. had kept his epilepsy hidden from his employer and then wife, while he was therefore not allowed to drive in the truck. In addition, according to the OM, he had not taken his medication correctly and he had used cocaine in the 48 hours prior to the accident. The OM demanded 4.5 years in prison against him and a seven -year -old driving ban.

According to Sabine ten Doesschate, it was not proven that he had not taken his medication as prescription. According to her, it was also not scientifically established that cocaine use can lead to an epileptic attack.

To read aloud

It took Juan S. to speak great at the end of the day. At the last minute he asked his counselor to read his story. The lawyer of one of the victims insisted that he would speak himself. Her client would greatly appreciate that. He finally did that.

« I know there are no words to alleviate the loss. I carry the pain with me every day, » he said. He also told about the impact of the accident on his own life. His former wife left him, he cannot work and is dependent on his parents and brother for financial support.

The judge will rule on 10 July.

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