71-year-old jailed for 3.5 years for road rage incident that left a Polish woman dead

The District Court in Den Bosch sentenced a 71-year-old woman to three and a half years in prison on Tuesday for a road rage dispute that ended in the death of a 38-year-old woman from Poland. The incident happened in the victim's place of residence, Lith, on July 13, 2022.

Elly van der S. was parking her car that day, when she struck the bicycle carrier on another vehicle in the center of Lith. An argument ensued with the owners of the vehicle, a couple originally from Poland. At one point, Van der S. attempted to drive away, but she was stopped by the couple who thought she was trying to leave the scene without sharing her details. The victim and her husband stood in front of and behind the suspect's car.

When Van der S. started to drive off, the Polish woman landed on the hood of her car. The victim's partner, who was 42 at the time, pulled the door open to force the suspect to stop, but she continued driving with the victim on the hood and her husband hanging off the door.

After about 100 meters, she drove off the road, hitting a post and a flagpole and sending the car into a front garden. The victim fell off the vehicle when the suspect drove off the road, and was run over by Van der S. in the process. The woman died from her injuries shortly after the incident in the hospital.

The court said that there was no evidence that the suspect intended to kill someone, but she must have known that her behavior could result in somebody dying. Therefore, the court ruled that charges of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter were proven.

The Public Prosecution Service recommended eight years in prison. The court decided on a much lower sentence, considering a psychologist testified that the suspect suffers from several disorders which contributed to the situation.

As such, the court thought she was less accountable for her actions than the prosecutors believed. The court also took into consideration that Van der S. is of an older age.

The woman was given a ten-year driving ban and will have to pay 80,000 euros worth of damages to the victim's relatives in addition to the jail sentence.