Tuesday, 21 April 2015 - 09:51
Football striker Ruud Bijsterveld killed in train accident
The man who was killed in an accident between a train and a beer bike in Eindhoven on Monday has been identified as 24 year old football player Ruud Bijsterveld. He played in the first team of football club EMK from Neunen.
According to Omroep Brabant, Bijsterveld was known as a "goal machine". The team was celebrating their Sunday victory on the beer bike when the accident happened.
The 24 year old football player was killed when a train collided with the beer bike at the crossing on Tongelressestraat. The cause of the accident is still unclear, but eyewitnesses told Omroep Brabant that the bike got stuck on the crossing. Bijsterveld tore his cruciate ligaments last week and was walking on crutches. This may be why he could not get off the bike in time.
An eyewitness who saw the accident from his apartment told the newspaper that he saw one of the bike's passengers flying from the bike and hitting a fence. "Another boy landed even further. Others walked up to him, but i think they immediately realized that they could do nothing more for him."
The police are still investigating the circumstances of the accident. The driver of the train was slightly injured by the windshield, which was destroyed in the crash. According to the police, it is miraculous that the other passengers on the beer bike managed to escape without injury. "I think that we can call it luck that the other 15 to 20 passengers on the beer bike were not injured. You would surely be able to call it a miracle", a spokesperson said.