Police: Dutch royals targeted in deadly crash

A Dutch driver careened through police barriers and plowed into a crowd early Thursday, in a premeditated attack on the royal family which killed five bystanders and wounded 12.

The car, catapulted transients in the air, traveled a few meters from the open topped buses with Queen Beatrix and her family in them, then hit a stone monument.

Video to follow


"I think it became obvious that this has happened with premeditation," Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said.

Prosecutors said the driver, seriously injured and still in a crumpled car, recognized the king and his family of orientation.

"The man said that his action was for the royal family," said Attorney Ludo Goossens.



The driver, whose name was not published could face life in prison.

The motive for the attack was unclear. Dutch media, citing neighbors, said the assailant was dismissed from his job and had to be evicted from his home. The police identified him as a 38-year-old Dutch man with no history of mental illness or the police, but did not release his name.

Apeldoorn officials said the driver had a map of the Queen's movements.

The festivities were canceled for the Queen's Day, National Day is to lift millions of people on the street, dances, picnics and parties outdoors in sunny weather throughout the country. The flags have been reduced to half staff. The Netherlands Embassy in Washington canceled a scheduled reception.

Queen Beatrix said: "It shocks us all"

The driver apparently acted alone and is not related to any terrorist group or ideology. No explosives were found in his car or at home. According to authorities

"From the first contact with police before the suspect was removed from the car ... we have reason to believe it was a deliberate action," said Goossens.

Although the sequence of events is cloudy, apparently he crashed his small black car with two sets of police barriers, smashing the windscreen and damaging the front of the vehicle even before hitting the building.

The final seconds were captured on video and film equipment for the media after the royal family in a bus.

Reporters saw people thrown into the air or the effects on the street, their limbs broken Askew. First aid crews and police officers have for the victims and apply resuscitation techniques.

The driver, bleeding from nose and head, was sunk off the place when the police got up and put into an ambulance.

Children among the injured

Previously, the mayor of Apeldoorn Graaf said Fred, eight of the 13 injured were in serious condition, two men and two women killed. Later a third man died of his injuries, said spokesman for the county Toon Schuiling Apeldoorn. Two teenagers and a child of 9 years, were among those seriously injured.

A police officer narrowly escaped injury when he jumped from his bike to avoid being beaten.