A 37-year-old man from Nijmegen has been arrested after last night’s traffic accident in which two people were killed, the police reported. The victims were a 79-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman. The driver of the vehicle drove off after the accident.
The incident happened around 9:15 p.m. on the Boerengatbrug on Maasboulevard, in the center of the city. The two victims from Capelle aan den IJssel were hit by a van. The victims were resuscitated, but help was of no avail. The car was later found several hundred yards away with a damaged windshield. The driver had disappeared.
According to regional broadcaster Rijnmond, data from the RDW show that the MOT of the vehicle, a Ford company car from 2007, had expired since January. The current owner would have put the vehicle in his name at the end of June. It is not yet known whether he was also behind the wheel during the accident.
Nothing is clear yet about the circumstances, a spokesperson for the police said that the investigation is still ongoing. The van has been seized for investigation. “Any information about the accident is therefore welcome,” says the police, who have called witnesses to report.
Flowers at the scene of the accident
Flowers were laid at the scene of the accident this afternoon. A reporter from the Rijnmond regional broadcaster spoke to the grandchildren of the 79-year-old man there. They do not want to respond further and only say that the woman is not his partner, but a friend. They said they had been to the World Port Days together and were on their way home. “The family is very sad and takes a moment with the flowers,” said the reporter.
Passers-by say that the accident concerns them. “It is very strange that the world goes on as usual while two beloved people have lost their lives here,” says a woman who comes to lay flowers with her son. According to the woman, who also comes from Capelle aan den IJssel, the Maasboulevard has long been known as a dangerous road.
Mayor Oskam van Capelle aan den IJssel today expresses his disgust at the accident. “The terrible accident in Rotterdam in which two inhabitants of Capellen lost their lives, deeply affects the Capelle community. My condolences go out to the relatives.”
- Two pedestrians killed in Rotterdam, driver fled
