Three found guilty in Roermond speedboat crash that left one dead, one paralyzed

The court in Roermond sentenced two people to 100 hours and 140 hours of community service for their involvement in a fatal speedboat accident on the Maas River by Roermond in 2021. 59-year-old Jan S. was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, and 65-year-old Peter G. from Linne was sentenced to 140 hours. Both have also had their sailing license taken away for a year.

Another suspect of involvement with the accident, Theo S., was convicted without punishment because he had been punished enough due to the loss of his son in the accident, said the court. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) had recommended 180 hours of community service for both suspects and one conviction without punishment a few weeks ago.

The three men were in two speedboats that crashed into each other at high speed on the Maas River on September 5, 2021. This led to severe injuries for two of the five people who were on the boats. One of them, Mike, died of his injuries hours later. He was 20 years old at the time.

Mike’s girlfriend, now 21-year-old Nina, was paralyzed for the rest of her life due to the incident. She suffers from locked-in syndrome and can only move and communicate with her right eye.

The court ordered the three men to pay 390,000 euros in damage compensation, which is mainly money that will be used for Nina’s treatment. The woman, along with the OM, had asked for a lot more money, but according to the court, that falls outside the possibilities of a criminal case. The court referred the woman to the civil court to claim higher amounts.

According to the court, Theo S. and Peter G. were operating the speedboats at much too high speeds while not paying enough attention to the busy Maasplassen area. Theo S. did not have a sailing license. Jan S., who was next to him, did have a sailing license and was, therefore, skipper of the vessel.

Jan S. should have intervened when he saw that Theo S. was going too fast, the court said. Peter G., the operator of the other speedboat, was not only going too fast, he also swerved to the wrong side to avoid a collision.

The three men have also been ordered to pay tens of thousands of euros to Nina’s foster parents and brother.