Court releases truck driver accused of killing 7 after crashing into barbecue

A court in Rotterdam ordered the release of the truck driver who plowed through a neighborhood barbecue in Nieuw-Beijerland late last month, killing several people. The 45-year-old Spanish man is still considered a criminal suspect in the case, but for now will not have to remain in pre-trial detention. He can also return to his home country. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) said it intends to appeal.

Six adults were killed in the crash last month, including an expectant mother who was due to give birth in September. As such, many officials consider there to have been seven fatalities as the result of the 27 August crash. Seven others were injured, including adults and children. Three days later, the examining magistrate in Rotterdam remanded the suspect into custody for what was expected to be a two-week period.

The driver’s attorney, Winston de Brouwer, suggested his client may have had an epileptic seizure before the accident, he said this week on the television show Jinek. He cannot remember any details about the crash. “What happened to him could very well have been an epileptic attack at that time. Based on what we now find in the case file, that is the conclusion,” the lawyer said. He had bouts of epilepsy when he was younger, but “he follows the doctor’s directions and faithfully takes his medication.” De Brouwer claimed the OM drew a similar conclusion.

The council chamber in Rotterdam, which can overrule the magistrate on issues related pretrial detention, heard the case on Thursday. Prosecutors said the suspect should remain in custody because of the possibility that he will cause another accident. “The court no longer sees that risk of recurrence and therefore there is insufficient grounds to detain the suspect any longer. The Public Prosecution Service is appealing this decision.

The OM said that the suspect has to respond to every message from police and prosecutors located in the Netherlands and Spain. His driver’s license has also been seized by prosecutors, meaning he cannot legally get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

“This is an investigation that will not be completed any time soon. For example, we are still waiting for additional blood tests and medical data from Spain to determine whether a medical condition or medication may have played a role,” the OM stated.

Some medications used to treat epilepsy, like phenobarbital, phenytoin, primidone, and higher doses of carbamazepine, can legally prevent someone from driving certain commercial vehicles in the Netherlands, according to the CBR. “If a person is taking seizure medication, he or she is not allowed to drive a truck or bus. This also applies if your patient has not had a seizure for a long time," said the authority, which handles Dutch driver’s licenses, on its website.