The nationwide street party in honor of the Queen's birthday took a tragic turn Thursday, as a car ploughed into a crowd of people lined up to watch the royal family drive by.
What started as a gorgeous day, with sunny weather, crowds in the street in a celebratory mood, and festivities planned around the entire country, ended in tragedy.
The city of Apeldoorn was the center of the festivities, where the main event was to be the reviewing of a parade by HM Queen Beatrix and the Royal Family. The Queen and her family members were making their way to the palace in an open bus, along streets lined with cheering people.
Suddenly a small black vehicle, after apparently crashing through two police barriers, drives through the crowd at high speed, aims at the bus with the royals, but slams into a granite monument instead. In it's wake are numerous people lying wounded in the street, a horrified crowd, and a stunned nation. 5 of the wounded have so far become fatalities, 3 more are in critical condition, and another 11 injured. The driver is also said to be in critical condition.
Police have traced the registration to an address in Huissen, where SWAT teams entered the residence and an investigation is ongoing. The landlady
of the rental complex confirmed the driver's identity, and revealed that the man had lost his job several months ago, and was about to be evicted from the apartment for failure to pay the rent.
Link to excellent reporting by the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
Warning: some of the pictures are disturbing to watch.
I remember celebrating the Queen's Birthday as a child, and it is so sad to see something so deeply tragic happening on such a festive day.
My deepest sympathy is with those who are personally affected by this horrific event, and with my fellow Dutchmen.