Fatal accident on E17, truck driver arrested

A truck driver who caused an accident yesterday on the E17 motorway at Zwijnaarde, near Ghent, has been taken into custody. The man is reported to be a 39-year-old Romanian national. Two people, a Dutch couple in their 50s, died in the accident.

The accident took place on the Antwerp-bound carriageway, when a lorry ran into a Volkswagen van that was at a near standstill in a tailback caused by roadworks, pushing it into the lorry ahead of it, which in turn ran into a third lorry.

The van burst into flames, as did the second lorry’s cabin. That lorry driver escaped, but the Dutch couple in the van both died at the scene. The motorway remained blocked until late in the evening.

The Romanian driver said that he did not have time to brake. According to the Ghent prosecutor’s office, he was driving too fast, and there were no signs on braking on the roadway.

The man will appear before a court in Ghent next week, which will decide if his detention is to be prolonged. The Ghent prosecutor’s office has asked for witnesses to the accident to come forward to their local police station.

Ten days ago a truck driver died when his cabin burst into flames on the E40 near Groot-Bijgaarden, leading to seven hours of blocked traffic.

photo: VTM