Court sentences man to five years for fatal crash
A motorist hit a four-year-old boy and his mother in Maastricht while driving far too fast and under the influence of alcohol.
Listen to this article
There is no audio version yet. Request one and an AI voice will read the article aloud.
Read by an AI voice.
The Limburg District Court has sentenced a 30-year-old man to five years in prison for causing a fatal road accident in Maastricht. He is also banned from driving for five years.
The court ruled on Wednesday on the accident that occurred on 27 March in Heer, a district of Maastricht. A four-year-old boy was killed; his mother was seriously injured. The court found it proven that the driver caused the accident through reckless driving.
The investigation showed that the car was travelling at approximately 112 kilometres per hour on a road where the speed limit was 50 kilometres per hour. Blood tests also showed that the driver had more than three and a half times the legally permitted amount of alcohol in his blood.
According to the court, the man knowingly took an unacceptable risk by getting into the car after visiting a café and driving at high speed through a residential area. That finding corresponds with the legal classification of reckless driving, which forms the basis for the conviction in this case.
The sentence is the same as that sought by the Public Prosecution Service. In addition to the prison sentence, the man was given a five-year driving disqualification. The court also based its decision on victim impact statements from the bereaved relatives and the child's mother.
The ruling was made at first instance. Public sources do not state whether the convicted man will appeal. The NOS previously reported that the Public Prosecution Service had sought five years in prison and that the court would rule in the case.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article's central claims were directly confirmed by the Limburg District Court. The earlier sentencing request and procedural context were checked against the NOS.
- confirmed On 14 October, the Limburg District Court imposed a five-year prison sentence and a five-year driving disqualification. — Limburg District Court, ruling of 14 October 2026. source
- confirmed A four-year-old boy was killed in the accident and his mother was seriously injured. — The judiciary mentions both consequences. source
- confirmed The car was travelling at approximately 112 kilometres per hour where the speed limit was 50 kilometres per hour. — The judiciary mentions both speeds. source
- confirmed The sentence was the same as that sought by the Public Prosecution Service. — This is stated in the court's statement and in earlier NOS reporting. source
Editor's note
The conviction, sentence, speed and alcohol concentration come from the court's statement. At the time of publication, it was not known whether an appeal would be lodged.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „maastricht verkeersveiligheid”
- NOS — „maastricht verkeersveiligheid”
- Het Parool — „maastricht verkeersveiligheid”