Tragedy in which a 12-year-old British schoolboy is killed and five other members of his family, including a twin brother, are injured when BMW crashes off Belgian highway during ‘bad weather’
A 12-year-old British boy was killed and five other members of his family, including his twin brother, were injured when a BMW crashed off a Belgian highway.
The accident involving the boy and the family happened on January 8 around 1 a.m. on the E40 highway near Veurne, West Flanders, on the way to the French border, according to Belgian media.
The family’s BMW X5 with a British license plate reportedly lost control and ended up on its roof between the highway and an exit.
Local police said in a statement about the accident: ‘There were a total of six occupants in the car. One of them, a twelve-year-old boy with British nationality, was thrown from the vehicle and died from his injuries.’
Investigators are investigating whether bad weather and an “inappropriate speed” caused the crash, the local prosecutor’s office said.
The boy was reportedly one of four children in the car, including his twin brother.
While four family members reportedly suffered only minor injuries, one person was seriously injured but is not believed to be in a life-threatening condition. All five are being treated in hospital.
The British family involved in the crash has not yet been named Jewish Chronicle reports that the boy attended Menorah Grammar School in Edgware, London.
The accident involving the boy and the family happened on January 8 around 1 a.m. on the E40 highway near Veurne, West Flanders, while we were on our way to the French border, according to Belgian media.
The family’s BMW X5 with a British license plate reportedly lost control and ended up on its roof between the highway and an exit
No one witnessed the crash and police were only called thanks to the BMW’s automatic emergency warning system, local media reported reports.
‘TInitial findings show that bad weather conditions and aquaplaning on the road, in combination with inappropriate speed, could have been the cause of the accident,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
‘There were no other vehicles involved in the accident. The investigation continues.”
The family was reportedly returning from Antwerp when the accident happened near Veurne. The exit into the city was closed for several hours after the incident.
The boy’s tragic death comes just two weeks before he was due to celebrate his bar mitzvah with his twin brother, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
His classmates at Menorah Grammar School reportedly reacted “in different ways” to the news of his death, the newspaper reported.
In an email sent to parents on January 9, the school alerted parents of the death “of a very dead talmid (student).”
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.