Ostend/Bredene –
Two friends (23) decided to drive home together after an evening of fun at a local football club. The twenty-somethings each left with their own car, but drove in each other’s wake. An overtaking maneuver by one of the two friends turned out completely wrong. “You escaped unscathed, but this could have been dramatic,” sneers the police judge.
After an evening of playing football at a local football club, friends JV (23) from Ostend and NV (23) from Bredene each decided to drive home together in their car on December 11, 2023. Suddenly JV decided to overtake his friend NV with his car in front of him in Ostend. That overtaking maneuver went wrong: the JV’s car started to skid and the vehicle ended up against the fence of a house. NV was also shocked by the whole thing and had to brake hard. His car came to a stop against a concrete block. Both twenty-somethings escaped unscathed, but the material damage to the vehicles – including a company car they had just received – was considerable.
The local police arrived on site to make the necessary findings and decided to subject the boys to an alcohol test. JV turned out to have 1.52 per mille of alcohol in his body. Companion NV had also been drinking and registered a reading of 1.80 per mille. The judge gave the friends a hearty shower. “A life-threatening situation,” sneers the police judge. “This could have ended much worse. You escaped unscathed, but this could have been dramatic.”
Judge’s ruling
Both gentlemen were present in the police court on Tuesday morning. “I realize that we were lucky,” says NV. The judge decided to sentence JV to a driving ban of 45 days. NV also received a driving ban of 45 days and must retake his theoretical driving test because he was a young driver. The police judge decided to acquit the young man for drunkenness and not to impose an alcolock. The boys also both received a fine of 1,600 euros, half of which was suspended. (CCA)
2025-01-07 12:23:00