Man crashes car into pharmacy after getting tired of waiting in line
A man got so angry at having to wait his turn that he crashed his car into a pharmacy in Culemborg on Thursday, the GP attached to the pharmacy told AD. The police arrested the 42-year-old man.
“At the time, a lady was standing in the waiting room with her baby on her arm,” GP Freek van den Heuvel said to the newspaper. “You don’t have to think about what could have happened. Or think about some older people who may not be able to jump away in time. Then it would have been a bigger drama.”
The pharmacy and GP practice is part of De Fonteijn health center in Culemborg. According to staff, the suspect walked in aggressively and wanted his medicine immediately. The assistant at the counter told him to take a number and wait his turn.
“He then walked outside. He got into his car and drove into the pharmacy. Then he got out of his car and walked out again. He was very calm. He didn’t even look back. I ran after him, staying at a safe distance because you never know. A little further, in the park behind us, officers arrested him. Even then, he was very calm,” the GP said.
“We are increasingly confronted with angry and aggressive people at the counter. You always have to be aware of that. So here you can see where something like this can lead,” Van den Heuvel said. “In general, you can see that the stress level in society is increasing. That will have to do with the enormous inflation, the high energy prices, you name all the crises. Not everyone knows how to deal with that.”
‘“It was probably not meant personally, but if a fuse goes off, then we have to deal with it at the counter,” the GP continued. “It gives our employees an unsafe feeling. Will someone like that come back? If so, what then? If you walk to your car at 5 o’clock to go home, will you be safe?”
Over the summer, the pharmacists’ organization KNMP reported that a shortage of medicines is increasingly leading to frustration among patients. Seven out of ten pharmacies experience daily problems from patients who take out their frustration on employees, a KNMP survey showed. Twenty percent of that group indicated they face physical or verbal aggression on a daily basis.
