Professional footballer Vloet gets 2.5 years in prison for causing fatal accident on A4 motorway

Professional footballer Rai Vloet must serve 2.5 years in prison for causing the fatal accident on the A4 near Hoofddorp in November 2021. This killed a 4-year-old boy.

Vloet is additionally banned from driving for four years. The 27-year-old footballer admitted at the hearing two weeks ago that he had drunk “two to three glasses of liquor” before getting into the car that evening.

The court found Vloet guilty of causing a fatal accident due to recklessness. “It is extremely irresponsible that he started driving with too much liquor and he drove way too fast. By his actions, he caused an irreversible loss. No punishment can take away the grief and pain,” the judge ruled this afternoon.

Omroep West writes that Vloet was not present at the verdict because he lives in Russia. The Netherlands does not have an extradition treaty with that country, but the footballer has previously expressed through his lawyer that he “wants to serve his sentence.”

Whether Vloet will appeal, his lawyer cannot yet say. “We are going to think very carefully now, discuss everything with Rai and his family,” he said. Once the appeal deadline is over and the sentence becomes final, Vloet will receive a summons to report to a Dutch prison.

Investigations revealed that Vloet was driving 203 kilometers per hour just before the accident, where the speed limit was 130 kilometers per hour. He himself said he was driving between 130 and 150 kilometers per hour. He stated that he was working on his cruise control just before the collision.

After the accident, Vloet lied about who was behind the wheel. Vloet pointed to the co-passenger, who himself agreed. He later stated in court that he had lied because he was in shock.

Vloet previously played for PSV and NAC, among others. He was suspended by his then club Heracles Almelo after the accident, then left for Kazakhstan and currently plays for Russian club FK Ural.