Footballer Rai Vloet convicted in car crash that killed a child; 2.5 years in prison

The court in Haarlem sentenced professional footballer Rai Vloet to 2.5 years in prison. The court considered it proven that the 27-year-old midfielder’s reckless driving caused an accident on the A4 highway in which 4-year-old Gio Roos from Zoetermeer died. Because Vloet was driving under the influence of alcohol, the court banned him from driving for four years.

The prison sentence imposed by the court was lower than what the Public Prosecution Service demanded. At the criminal hearing two weeks ago, the prosecutor demanded 3.5 years in prison.

The accident happened on 14 November 2021 near Hoofddorp. At the criminal hearing, Vloet admitted that he had consumed strong alcohol before getting into the car after a party ended in Amsterdam. The former footballer for PSV, NAC Breda, Excelsior, and Heracles Almelo, among others, was in the car with a friend when he crashed into the other vehicle without braking around midnight. Vloet was driving 193 kilometers per hour at the time of the crash.

Vloet’s friend initially took the blame, posing as the driver to the police. When the footballer later learned that a toddler had died in the accident, he decided to tell the truth.

Vloet played football for Heracles Almelo until the beginning of last year but switched to FC Astana in Kazakhstan and now plays for the Russian FK Utal. Heracles decided to suspend him after it emerged that his involvement in the fatal accident was greater than Vloet had previously claimed.