Car crashes into audience at Brabant autocross; four hospitalized

A car crashed into the audience at the autorcross in Leende in Noord-Brabant on Sunday. Two men, a woman and a boy were injured to such an extent that they were hospitalized. Three other people were checked over by paramedics at the scene. The police arrested the driver, a 21-year-old man from Reuver, and his passenger, a 17-year-old girl from Veughel.

The incident happened at around 5:15 p.m., during the awards ceremony. The autocross races were held in a meadow on Maarrheezerweg, near the A2 highway and southeast fromm Eindhoven. A fight may have preceded the incident, the police said.

The organizers of the racing event, De Kempen Cross, said on Facebook that a fight over money triggered the incident. Throughout the day, the organizers and drivers decided to hold only two races instead of three due to "force majeure", De Kempen Cross said. According to local media, this was due to visibility issues caused by dust. After the races were done, during the awards ceremony, the man went to ask for his money back. The organizers refused, as the races were already done. "There was a small fight, after which the an walked away angrily, took his car and hit a number of random people."

Omroep Brabant and Eindhovens Dagblad reported a similar chain of events based on statements from witnesses.

According to the police, officers at the scene had to create a barrier to prevent the public from attacking the suspects and restore peace. The suspects were arrested and taken to a police station for questioning. Specialists from the police's traffic accident analysis department are investigating exactly what happened. 

Autocross races scheduled for this coming week have been canceled, De Kempen Cross said on Facebook. "We will see how it goes, but this can be the deciding factor to stop the autocross event completely. But we also do not just want to give up an association that has existed for 46 years", the organizers said. The organizers expressed support for the victims. "This could have ended much worse..."