Train smashes beer bike killing celebrated footballer

One person died Monday evening when the beer bike he was riding with several others was struck by an oncoming train, police said. The man killed in the accident was an injured football player celebrating a league championship with his teammates, according to Omroep Brabant. The incident happened at about 6:30 p.m. near Tongelresestraat in Eindhoven, Noord Brabant. The multi-passenger beer bike was not able to completely cross the tracks before the barrier came down, signalling a train’s imminent arrival, witnesses told the broadcaster. A similar accident killed a woman struggling with a walker last week. The victim tore a knee ligament during a match on Sunday, another witness stated, when his team, EMK Nuenen won their Class 4G league title. With the knee injury, he was not able to get out of the way fast enough, even though as many as 19 people managed to jump from the bike to safety, police said. He was “a standard bearer, someone who always had a positive impact,” an EMK team representative told the broadcaster. Many of those on the bike also played for EMK. None of the others were injured in the crash. “Those involved are accommodated by victims' aid,” police said. They were transported to a police station in Eindhoven. Officially, the cause of the accident is still under investigation. “Train traffic is obstructed,” as investigators worked at the scene, police revealed. Because of the accident and other issues, train traffic between Eindhoven and Weert was replaced with a bus service on Monday evening. Passengers were told to expect extra travel time of 30 to 60 minutes through at least 11:30 p.m. on Monday.