The man responsible for the post-Christmas crash on the A2 motorway which killed one person and left seven injured, faces prosecution for manslaughter, the public prosecution department said on Monday.

The man is currently in police custody and will appear in court on January 14.

Eyewitnesses said the crash happened when a car ploughed into the one in front at very high speed. The driver of the other car was killed. The maximum speed limit on the stretch of road near Maarssen is 100 kph.

Deliberate act

A spokesman for the department told news agency ANP the suspect faces manslaughter charges because he was driving so fast he should have known there was the likelihood of an accident.

Lawyer Bert Kabel, who specialises in traffic accidents, says drivers who face manslaughter charges have usually deliberately killed someone. ‘In those cases, the car is the weapon, but this does not appear to be the case here,’ Kabel said.

The maximum sentence for manslaughter in the Netherlands is 15 years.