Footballer Rai Vloet faces 3.5 years in prison for killing child in drunk driving crash

The Public Prosecution Service recommended a sentence of 42 months in prison in the criminal case against professional football player Rai Vloet. The 27-year-old midfielder is on trial on Monday in Haarlem for causing a fatal car crash which killed 4-year-old Gio Roos. Vloet was playing for Heracles Almelo when the incident happened, but now plays professionally in Russia.

He is also suspected of driving under the influence when the accident took place on the A4 near Hoofddorp on November 14, 2021. At the hearing, he admitted to having drunk liquor before getting into the car after a party that ended earlier in Amsterdam. Vloet was in the car with a friend when he drove into the other car around midnight without braking.

"The blow must have been enormous," the prosecutor said. "The family's car came to a stop 200 meters away. The rear was completely crushed."

Vloet drove well above the speed limit, which was 130 kilometers per hour at the time, the officer said. Data from his own car showed that he was traveling at 203 kilometers per hour just before the accident. Accounting for a margin of error, the prosecutor said the court should assume he was driving at least at 193 km/h at the time. In her argument, she also relied on witness statements suggesting Vloet was driving anywhere from 150 to 200 kilometers per hour.

After the accident, Vloet's friend initially took the blame by posing as the driver, Vloet admitted to the court. "The way he behaved after the accident is anything but proper," said the prosecutor. She called the behavior "unpalatable to the parents." The prosecutor also said that Vloet is someone people look up to in his role as a professional football player, but he did not live up to that promise due to his use of alcohol.

The Roos family asked the court to take Vloet into custody, fearing that he will remain in Russia, where he plays football at FK Ural. During the criminal case against Vloet, the lawyer for the child's surviving family members said it was "likely that he will evade the punishment that the court will impose on him."

The prosecutor did not agree. She said there was no risk of flight and pointed out that suspects in similar cases are given the opportunity to await a possible appeal in freedom.