Driver not prosecuted over trailer deaths

25 November 2003

AMSTERDAM — The driver of a tractor and trailer which overturned killing two children in the town of Nieuw-Vennep in June, will not be prosecuted because justice officials believe he has been punished enough.

A group of 14 girls had attended the birthday party of the man’s daughter on 15 June and several of them were being transported home in the back of the trailer when it rolled over.

Two of the girls, aged 7 and 14, were killed in the accident, while a 17-year-old girl suffered a spinal chord lesion.

The public prosecutor has confirmed the 38-year-old driver of the tractor made an error, causing the trailer to roll over at a roundabout in his home town of Nieuw-Vennep, NOS reported on Tuesday.

But the prosecution said the man felt extremely guilty and had shown more than customary concern about the surviving relatives and victims.

The surviving relatives and the parents of the other girls had also urged the judicial authorities not to prosecute the man, claiming he lived on a daily basis with the consequences of the accident.

Subject: Dutch news