Epileptic seizure caused Nieuw-Beijerland tragedy that killed seven, lawyer says

The Spanish truck driver who crashed into a neighborhood barbecue in Nieuw-Beijerland a week and a half ago, killing seven, likely had an epileptic seizure. His lawyer Winston de Brouwer said that on Jinek on Tuesday evening.

The driver can’t remember anything about the accident, De Brouwer said. “What happened to him could very well have been an epileptic attack at that time. Based on what we now find in the file, that is the conclusion,” the lawyer said. According to De Brouwer, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) draws the same conclusion.

The 44-year-old man had epilepsy in his youth but had not had a seizure for a long time. “He follows the doctor's directions and faithfully takes his medication.”

The driver also took his medication before the accident and did not use any narcotics, the lawyer said. He is confident that the blood test results, expected later this week, will confirm that.

The accident killed seven people - six adults, including a pregnant woman near the end of her term and her unborn child. Seven other people, including children, were injured. The examining magistrate remanded the man into pre-trial custody for another two weeks last week.