14-year-old flees institution, drives 300 kilometers - and causes serious accident

A 14-year-old boy who fled an institution in Groningen, Netherlands, drove a van more than 300 kilometers until he was involved in an accident in Belgium, where five vehicles were damaged and three people were injured. According to reports, he drove at high speed and swerved between vehicles on a busy road. None of the injured were in life-threatening condition. The East Flanders prosecutor's office appointed a traffic expert to investigate the circumstances of the accident.

A 14-year-old boy who fled an institution in the city of Groningen, Netherlands, drove a van more than 300 kilometers until he was involved in an accident that damaged five vehicles and injured three people in Belgium. According to reports, the boy drove at high speed and swerved between vehicles on a busy road, and was eventually involved in a series of collisions, including a head-on crash. The three injured were taken to hospitals, and according to police, none were in life-threatening condition. The accident occurred around 2:00 PM on the Kreigsbaan (N419) road in Borcht, in the Waasland-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht area of East Flanders, near the military compound of the 11th Engineer Battalion. According to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir, the boy was driving a light commercial vehicle with Dutch license plates. Witnesses said the white van advanced from the direction of Melsele at high speed, swerving between vehicles in heavy traffic, and reports of the dangerous driving reached police shortly before the accident. Two people in the passenger car that suffered the head-on impact were trapped inside and rescued by fire crews, then taken to a hospital. The boy himself exited the van on his own and was taken to a hospital under police escort. Other drivers involved in the accident were not injured. The East Flanders prosecutor's office appointed a traffic expert to examine the circumstances of the accident and reconstruct the chain of collisions. Police and prosecutors in Belgium are in contact with authorities in the Netherlands to determine how to proceed with the boy's case. Authorities have not yet clarified how he obtained the van or what caused the loss of control.