Court convicts driver in reckless Boxing Day car crash that killed entire family

A 30-year-old man from The Hague was convicted of causing a deadly traffic crash that killed a family of three on Boxing Day in 2022. Suraj A. was sentenced on Tuesday to eight years in prison for the fatal Rotterdam collision.

The District Court in Rotterdam convicted A. of three counts of manslaughter. A. was driving while under the influence of alcohol and broke different traffic laws that fateful morning. With that he consciously took the risk to endanger himself and others, the court said.

The collision happened at around 5:54 a.m. at the Groene Kruisplein in Rotterdam-Zuid. Investigators said A. was driving far too fast, blowing through a red light at between 134 and 170 kilometers per hour.

He came onto the road from the exit ramp of the A15 motorway, which leads to the intersection. Traffic there is permitted at a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour.

A family from Spijkenisse lost their lives in the accident: a 36-year-old man, a 35-year-old woman, and a 7-year-old girl. Their car flipped over due to the collision, and the victims were ejected from the vehicle as a result.

The Public Prosecution Service recommended a conviction and 12 years in prison against the man. The court decided this recommendation was excessive, and "aimed at retaliation." The court ruled that traffic accidents are required to be treated differently compared to a case of manslaughter by intentional violence.

The judge also dismissed the recommendation that A. be banned from driving for ten years after his incarceration. The court stood firm on the eight-year prison sentence.

The victim’s relatives were disappointed by the decision. “He will be out in no time and will then be able to continue his life. While my daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild will never come back,” the mother of the deceased woman responded.

“But I find it even worse that he will be allowed to drive again. It could happen again.”