A police officer who caused the death of a pedestrian in Ixelles is facing a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
A charge of involuntary manslaughter has been filed against a police officer in Excelsior after a federal police vehicle struck a 33-year-old pedestrian on Avenue de la Couronne, resulting in his death. The circumstances of the traffic-related incident increase the severity of the charge.
The accident occurred on Monday morning around seven o'clock, and the vehicle used for a protection mission struck pedestrians fatally and caused damage to four other cars. There were three federal police officers in the vehicle at the time.
The spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor's Office in Brussels, Laura Demolier, stated that the three officers sustained minor injuries and were taken to the hospital in a state of shock. The driver, a 35-year-old man, tested negative for alcohol and drugs and held a valid driver's license.
After the accident, the driver was detained and questioned by the monitoring committee Comité P. The other passengers in the vehicle were also questioned, but they were not detained. The driver was released with certain conditions while the investigation continues.
The investigating judge officially charged the driver with involuntary manslaughter, with an increased penalty due to the incident being traffic-related. The public prosecutor's office and investigators are still continuing to investigate the circumstances and events that led to the fatal collision.