Driver release from custody in car crash; Witnesses alleged intent

A who was taken into custody on Saturday after crashing his car into a group of people in Deventer was released from custody, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said on Wednesday. Prosecutors decided not to pursue extending his pre-trial detention because earlier allegations that he intentionally drove into the victims were unsubstantiated.

"The investigation is ongoing," the OM said. "He is suspected of, among other things, dangerous driving behavior and joyriding."

The incident happened in an industrial area on Saturday night at about 9 p.m. Police said they "found quite a bit of chaos at the scene. There were damaged scooters on the ground, and two cars with damage. All airbags were deployed on both vehicles."

At least three people were hurt, and possibly a fourth, including a 19-year-old Deventer woman who was sitting in a parked car when her vehicle was struck. She was hospitalized with a neck injury along with a 17-year-old Deventer girl with knee injuries. A 19-year-old woman from Twello with knee injuries was treated at the scene by paramedics. Another young man hurt at the scene later visited an after-hours doctor's office, Nu.nl reported the day after the incident.

Witnesses claimed the driver who caused the crash tried to flee the scene and they kept him there until police arrived. The suspect, a 23-year-old from Romania, passed alcohol detection tests, but failed an initial drug test. Police drew blood from him for a further test, the results of which were not revealed.

Several witnesses told media outlets they believed the incident was intentional, due to the high rate of speed when the crash took place, and because they thought he had driven by them earlier in the night.

“He went so fast. I think he was driving eighty. The scooters flew through the air. Not normal,” one witness told RTV Oost that night.