Welcome to Fast and Furious, Rotterdam edition. After being detained overnight for dangerous driving, a Rotterdam resident learned nothing from his sleepover, sped off, and hit two people.
The suspect was arrested in Rotterdam’s city centre on Sunday night for reckless driving. The 37-year-old’s driver’s license was confiscated.
On Monday evening, a family member collected the suspect from the station.
And what happened next was chaos.
Reoffends right after release
As the family member spoke with the police officer, the suspect jumped into the car and sped into Rotterdam. The police chased after.
At the intersection of Coolsingel and Doelwater, the driver hit a pedestrian. On Vuurplaat, he hit a person on a mobility scooter.
Thankfully, both victims suffered minor injuries and did not require hospitalisation.
After smashing into and damaging several moving and parked vehicles, the kamikaze finally collided with a police car.
Officers arrested him once again.
“It is unclear why the man fled after being released,” a police spokesperson tells nu.nl.
Did you know? In the Netherlands, if your licence is taken away for dangerous driving, the public prosecutor has up to 10 days to decide whether to return it. If they choose to keep it longer, you can file a complaint with the court to request it back.
Was this a one-off?
In 2024, Rotterdam issued 317,690 traffic fines, a rise even as the rest of the country saw its numbers fall, according to AD.
While it is difficult to determine how many fines were issued for extreme speeding and how many were for just five kilometres per hour over the limit, this appears to be an isolated case, with one person acting recklessly rather than part of a broader trend.
Do you often come across speed demons in the Netherlands? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!
