Nine people were injured when a car sped right into them after an “unreal” road accident on Monday evening in Nunspeet.
Albeit probably unintentionally, a 56-year-old local woman ploughed through a crowd of people waiting along the street to witness the annual light parade, reports NOS.
How it happened
Locals were awaiting the annual light parade, which features trucks decorated with festival lights, as they travels through Elburg and Nunspeet in the province of Gelderland in the east of the Netherlands.
According to witnesses, a car suddenly appeared at speed from a side street, crossed a roundabout, and dove into the crowd.
Nine people suffered from injuries, three of which were very serious.
“It all happened so fast,” a bystander tells Omroep Gelderland. His children, aged between six and eight, “saw people flying.”
No ill-will
Although the driver was immediately arrested, police found no immediate evidence that this was an intentional attack.
The mayor of Nunspeet, Céline Blom, told De Gelderlander: “The driver may have become unwell.”
The aftermath
As emergency services and trauma helicopters rushed to the scene, the municipality of Elburg quickly cancelled the rest of the parade.
About 20 eyewitnesses, including children, received victim support. Children were handed teddy bears and encouraged to draw as a way of processing the incident.
Heftige berichten uit Nunspeet. Mijn gedachten zijn bij de slachtoffers en hun families. Veel dank en respect voor de hulpdiensten die nu alles op alles zetten om de best mogelijke zorg te verlenen.https://t.co/TADugcmg01
— Rob Jetten (@RobJetten) December 22, 2025
“Much gratitude and respect for the emergency services who are now pulling out all the stops to provide the best possible care,” tweeted Rob Jetten (D-66 Party Leader).
Familiar devastation
A bystander compared this incident to the Queensday attack in Apeldoorn, where Karst Tates barrelled his Suzuki Swift into a crowd of people standing around the Royal bus.
The 2009 tragedy left eight dead and the nation in mourning, putting an end to the “open-access” culture of the Dutch monarchy’s public celebrations.
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